


Coffee and Dreams

by josiahstick, Super_Big_Mac



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Angst, Deviates From Canon, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Mind Games, Psychological Drama, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-16
Updated: 2017-11-27
Packaged: 2018-12-15 18:50:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 27
Words: 149,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11812086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/josiahstick/pseuds/josiahstick, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Super_Big_Mac/pseuds/Super_Big_Mac
Summary: Akira Kurusu has enough to worry about without having strange dreams about being arrested in Leblanc. He definitely has plenty enough to worry about without Goro Akechi showing up in these dreams. There's more to it than that, though: Akechi is dreaming about Akira as well. A thrilling game of wits between thief and detective soon begins, with coffee as the only referee. But greater mysteries lie beyond...Polished version of chapters 1-25 of the originalMany Arrests. Story by josiahstick, editing and help by Super_Big_Mac





	1. The First Arrest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody! So, these chapters were published before, but my editor Mac and I are redoing them and stuff so that all this nonsense is easier to navigate. Added here have been a few new minor dialogue bits, typo fixes, and most notably, a splash of color to mimic the game's UI in the story. If you're new to this, welcome! And stuff. We've got a wild adventure planned, so please enjoy the ride.
> 
> We're putting out four of the reworked chapters today, and the rest will be coming over the course of the next week or so (unless we mess up or get busy or something). In the meantime, I'll be also writing new chapters of the other two arcs, which will go in the other series and be published concurrently before the climax is begun. It'll be really cool, I promise. I've spent a lot of time and effort making all of this as cool as possible.
> 
> There aren't any major plot changes, so, if any of you who have already read the original story would rather ignore this, by all means do so. But if you are rereading it and stuff, thanks! Hope you like all the new pizzazz and whatnot!
> 
> If you have read it before, then please, for new readers, do not spoil future chapters of the story in the comments. That isn't cool. Thanks!
> 
>  
> 
> _Yo, Mac here. I came to be the editor for Many Arrests around the 20th or so chapter of the original, and things quickly started expanding beyond the story's original scope. These first few chapters are largely the same as they were, other than stylistic edits, and that may not hold true for every chapter from here on out. As plot points are more solidly established in our heads, Josiah and I might tweak dialogue or scenes to fix things that no longer make sense in light of the direction the story has gone; we'll let you know if a chapter ever has that happen. For now, toodle-oo~!_

**5/2/20XX** **☀ MoNDaY After School**  
**Days Until Expulsion: 0**

Akira felt dizzy. Very dizzy.

He was disoriented, confused, and he had a sickening, horrifying feeling in his stomach. He sensed that he was in much trouble, and his instincts told him to run far far away, before he encountered this danger— but he could not move. It was as if he was glued to his chair.

Akira was in Leblanc. Sojiro was behind the counter, making coffee and curry as usual. It all looked rather normal, simple. But something was very very wrong. He was in grave danger… but why? He vaguely recalled urgent texts from Ryuji and Ann… his cat, Morgana… Morgana could talk? but Morgana had been talking, as crazy as it seemed. He had been urging Akira, about “time running out,” “expulsion,” “Kamoshida…” They had all said something about a Palace… something important.

“Hey,” Sojiro said, barely snapping Akira out of his confusion. “Coffee good for you?” Akira nodded slowly. Coffee, huh? Something was terribly, terribly wrong. A bell rang, and the door swung open. A policeman and a detective-like fellow entered, and Akira turned his head to meet their cold, unhelpful eyes.

“Akira Kurusu— that is your name, yes?” said the detective-like man. Akira was dumbfounded. What was going on? What had he done? What— what—

“What do you want?” he inquired, finally finding the courage to speak.

“My thoughts exactly,” chimed in a bewildered Sojiro, “what’s this all about? Did you do something?”

The officers ignored him. Akira’s heartbeat sped up by about fifteen percent. The two men were unmistakably businesslike, and no solace, no hope for rescue from the impending danger, could be found. Were police officers not supposed to help people?

“Charges have been filed against you. The person who raised these allegations is Suguru Kamoshida. I assume you know him?”

Did Akira know a Suguru Kamoshida? Oh right… All his memories came flooding back to him.

He had set out to correct a horrible wrong, to save someone important… from this man. He had… had…

“Had that been it,” continued the man, “we wouldn’t be here right now. However, your prior criminal assault means you are currently on probation, correct?”

No… no… no! Akira had to say something, he had to go back to Shujin and… he had to run, he had to gather Morgana and Ryuji and Ann, and they were supposed to help him… help him save Ann and Shiho and Mishima… make Kamoshida confess all his crimes…

“I did nothing wrong,” Akira declared, with weak conviction in his deflated voice. He knew as soon as the words left his mouth that they would do him no good.

“Didn’t I tell you to behave yourself?!” Sojiro said, sounding furious.

“Well then, you’re coming with us. I’m sorry, but it has to be now.”

The look in Sojiro’s eyes was truly disheartening. He started to say something—

* * *

Akira woke, and bolted upright in his bed, breathing hard, harder than he had in awhile… it was not often that he had bad dreams… He checked the time on his phone. It was 1:32 AM.

 **4/30/2016 ☀ SATuRDaY Early Morning**  
**Days Until Expulsion: 2**  
**Steal Kamoshida's Heart**

It was a simple nightmare. Ryuji had written the calling card. It would be delivered today, when school started. Kamoshida was going to see it, the Treasure would appear, and the team would act quickly and take away his distorted desires, just as Morgana had told them. Thus changing his heart and saving himself, Ryuji, and Mishima from expulsion. And Ann from Kamoshida’s lust. It was going to work. Or, well, Morgana thought. But the nightmare had felt so real...

He looked over at Morgana, who was lying upon his stomach, sound asleep. Was everything truly okay?

He opened the group chat on his phone, and began typing a message.

** Is anyone awake?  **

Ryuji: ** I was studying.  **

** Oh, sorry to bother you, dude. Good night.  **

Ryuji: ** Well, no, I was, but I got tired of it. I couldn’t sleep, so I’m just playing video games now. What’s up?  **

** Oh… alright. I had a bad dream.  **

Ryuji: ** Really? Were you naked in front of the class or something?  **

** No! It was about Kamoshida.  **

Ryuji: ** Whoa! Was Kamoshida— like…  **

**_ Ryuji is typing…  _ **

** Whatever stupid thing you’re about to say, it probably didn’t happen. He wasn’t even in the dream.  **

Ryuji: ** What? Then how could it have been about him? **

Ann: ** Why are you two making my phone beep at this hour? What’s this about a dream? **

** A police officer and some pretentious asshole in a suit came over to arrest me because of something Kamoshida did.  **

Ann: ** WHAT?! **

Ryuji: ** Seriously? Holy shit! What the fuck, man! What else happened?  **

** I wanted to run, but I couldn’t move. I was stuck to the chair, somehow. And then they told me I had to come with them. Then I woke up.  **

**_ Ryuji and Ann are typing…  _ **

** It felt so real. I was horrified.  **

**_ Ryuji is typing…  _ **

Ryuji: ** Well, whatever, dude, don’t worry about it. We’re going to take away that bastard’s pervy heart and everything’s going to be just fine. Thanks for talking about the dream though. Don’t sweat it.  **

Ann: ** Yeah, it’s all going to be fine in the morning. That sounds super intense though. Good thing it didn’t really happen…  **

** Yeah… it very well might have if we had screwed up.  **

Ryuji: ** Anyway, tomorrow we’re taking the Treasure, so it’s probably a good idea to get a good night’s rest.  **

Ann: ** Says the guy who stays up at one in the morning playing video games.  **

Ryuji: ** Well… !  **

Akira laughed out loud at this.

** Who do you think you are, Morgana?  **

** Ha, whatever. Well, good night!  **

Akira put away his phone and did his best to go back to sleep. Still, something bothered him about that dream… But he didn’t dwell on it long— Ryuji and Ann had done a good job cheering him up. He hadn’t known them very long, but they were his first friends in Tokyo, and he knew he could count on them. Soon enough, Akira had just about forgotten the vivid, awful nightmare— and was slumbering soundly.


	2. Elevators and Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Phantom Thieves have triumphed over Kamoshida, but Akira is uncertain that their troubles are over. He shouldn't be worried about an obnoxious guy pushing ahead of them to the elevator, but something seems pretty off...

**_ 5/5, 5/6, 5/7, 5/8, 5/9, 5/10, 5/11, 5/12, 5/13, 5/14, 5/15, 5/16, 5/17, 5/18, 5/19, 5/20, 5/21, 5/22, 5/23, 5/24, 5/25, 5/26, 5/27, 5/28, 5/29, 5/30, 6/1, 6/2, … _ **

**??/??/20XX **

_Where am I… what’s my name… what year is it?_

Many Xs swam in front of Akira’s eyes. He couldn’t be certain of what had happened… why? He was forgetting something important… extremely important. Something that would make or break his fate. He needed to help. He needed to… it… It was hot in the stuffy underground chamber, and his face was moist with perspiration. Akira felt like he was literally sweating blood. He was so far gone into his thoughts, he wouldn’t have known the difference if he was.

“Akira Kurusu!” yelled a familiar woman’s voice. “Focus! Eyes on me! I need to know—”

She shook his shoulders vigorously, trying to snap him out of it. Akira rubbed his eyes, regained his senses momentarily, and locked eyes with Sae Niijima.

“The man in the coffee shop…” he began, but Niijima cut him off.

“What man? You were telling me about how you stole Kamoshida’s Treasure. Do you need a moment?”

“No! Please! Don’t leave!” Akira yelped instinctively. “My story isn’t over yet!” He knew somehow, that, if she left, it would be very bad. Very very bad. Until he remembered what he was forgetting, Sae Niijima’s presence in the interrogation chamber was to be his only salvation from ruin. If she dismissed him now…

Niijima looked baffled and skeptical. Reinvigorated by his sudden desperation, Akira fought to recall the truth. That’s right, the man in the coffee shop had been a nightmare. He couldn’t afford to mix up his imagination with reality now. As Niijima had already told him, if he gave a false testimony, they would both be screwed… in more ways than one.

He cleared his mind as best he could, and continued his story.

* * *

** 5/5/2016 ☀ THuRsDAY Daytime **

Ryuji and Akira were waiting in front of the elevators. They had just been to the bathrooms, and Ryuji had regurgitated what Akira estimated to be roughly a third of his meal into the toilet. “I totally panicked when I saw the “Closed for Cleaning” sign…” Ryuji said.

Akira felt a similar fatigue. He hadn’t exactly consumed a healthy quantity of food either. “You were talking big about eating until you puked, but then you really did puke. Are you some kind of moron?” inquired Morgana, to which Akira laughed out loud.

“Morgana, you puked too, you know. And then we had to clean it up.”

“Oh yeah… remind me to never do that again,” Ryuji added. He had been thoroughly disgusted by the cat’s barf. Morgana scowled at him, but for the time being he chose to ignore it. “What floor was the restaurant on?” he wondered, turning his attention to the elevator.

“Well, we came up to get here…” Morgana reasoned. “It has to be below us.”

Akira nodded in agreement. “Why don’t we check the directory?” he asked.

“Where was there a directory?” asked Morgana. “I didn’t see one anywhere…”

“Me neither,” Ryuji said.

“Really? I could have sworn I saw one at the entrance…” Akira mused. He was interrupted from said musings when five men in suits approached the elevators and pushed Ryuji and Akira out of the way.

“What the… !” Ryuji was incredulous.

Akira was of a similar attitude about the situation. “Who do these guys think they are?!”

“There’s still no update on the case?” said a bald man with orange-tinted sunglasses. One of the other men, evidently his subordinates, responded in the negative.

Their discussion continued for a second, but Ryuji, still furious at having been so rudely shoved away, spoke up. “Hey!” he protested, “you’re cutting in line!”

“What do you want?” asked one of the men, turning their attention to Ryuji and Akira.

“Pardon the interruption, sirs,” said Akira slowly, his voice dripping with sarcasm, “but we were here first.”

The bald man’s lackey looked annoyed. “We’re in a hurry.” he said dismissively.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Ryuji shouted. “So you can butt in front of other people, if you’re in a hurry?!”

In consensus with Ryuji, Akira added, “There’s more than one elevator, you know, for improving traffic. Something special about this one in particular?”

“It seems the customer base has changed since I was here last. Have they started a daycare?” asked the bald man. At hearing this, Ryuji looked even more furious. The door to the elevator opened. As the pretentious man and his followers entered, Ryuji attempted to shove past them but was roughly knocked aside. “Don’t bother with them!” the bald man said.

Akira froze up, and his prior cocky demeanor instantly vanished. He had heard that voice somewhere before… Why couldn’t he remember? It was… back in…  **20XX** ? He had… had… that man… who was he?

“I just can’t forgive shitty adults like that!” he heard Ryuji say, but the words barely registered. Akira was deep in thought…

“What’s wrong?” Ryuji asked, sounding concerned.

Akira felt awfully nauseous. Perhaps it was because he had eaten so much…

“Hey! Earth to Akira!”

Akira shook his head. “Sorry. Just a bit lightheaded.”

It was probably just his imagination, plus all his anxiety over that dream… and so narrowly getting away from the Palace and all. That man was just… some really pretentious asshole. Everything was totally fine.

* * *

_Where am I… my head hurts…_

_Oww._

_What?_

_“The person who raised these allegations…”_

_“Sorry… it has to be now.”_

_“God, what a disappointment…”_

* * *

Akira awakened once again, feeling his pulse quickening. He was alright… was he?

Could he trust his own memory? He wasn’t quite sure of it. That man… what was so important about him? He tried to tell himself it was nothing, but— he just wasn’t sure. Forgetting simple things, he could understand. Forgetting the time, an exam question, a random name or face. Forgetting a critically relevant name and face, though… that was something else. Was something wrong with him?

“Are you alright?”

Morgana was awake. He looked genuinely concerned. “You’ve been really out of it lately. Ever since those jerks at the elevators told us off. Something bothering you?”

Akira wondered how to reply. He couldn’t be sure if this even was something worth worrying about… “I don’t know,” he decided. “It’s probably nothing.”

“Then go back to sleep,” Morgana said, “we have a big day tomorrow.” Akira didn’t think it was that important. But to Morgana, apparently, every day was a big day. He was not inclined to argue at the moment, so he resumed his restless slumber.


	3. The Elusive Charmer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Was that the student council president lurking over Akira's shoulder? He's not sure, but as the Phantom Thieves make strides towards taking down Madarame, a little bit of Joker comes out as he makes his daring escape...

** 6/5/20XX ☀ SuNDaY Daytime**  
**Days Until Legal Action: 0**

_My head hurts…_

“Akira Kurusu. That is your name, yes?”

“Nope.”

”Don’t play dumb with us… ! Anyway, charges have been filed against you. The person who raised these allegations is Ichiryusai Madarame. I assume you know him?”

“Never heard of him before.”

The pretentious asshole in a suit smacked Akira across the face. _Ouch._ But he continued to react to them defiantly.

“You’re coming with us! I’m sorry, but it has to be now.”

“Oh, it can be later, I assure you. We can wait forever and ever and ever...”

“Excuse me?”

Akira stood up off of his chair. He now remembered who he was and what he had to do. There was a flash of blue, and his clothes changed to his Phantom suit. He no longer felt confused and dizzy— he felt truly alive.

“Don’t you have better things to do than trying to apprehend a Phantom Thief?” he asked sardonically, scowling arrogantly at the officials. “Sorry to disappoint, but it’s a total waste of time. This is my dream. I can wake up, anytime I want. I can make you leave this coffee shop— which I will, right about now. And then I will have myself a nice cup of coffee.”

The men looked absolutely bewildered by Joker’s statements. The man in a suit attempted to handcuff him, but the cuffs melted into thin air. The policeman lunged, trying to forcibly restrain the gallant thief— but he passed straight through as though he were but a ghost.

“Gentlemen! I have done nothing wrong,” declared Joker confidently. “I am only on the right side of justice. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

A bell rang, and Yusuke entered Leblanc, looking furious.

Akira turned, and gasped at this unexpected entrance— then reappeared in his chair. He looked down at his now ordinary clothes— he was no longer Joker. He was simply Akira Kurusu, trapped in his chair once again, and Sojiro…

“Coffee good for you?”

Yusuke turned to Akira and spoke with a most charged anger in his voice. “What,” he demanded to know, “have you awful Phantom Thieves done to my Sensei?!”

Akira was confused and dizzy again. “Uh. You, you helped us… steal his heart…”

“Such slander! I would never do such a thing as forcefully twist one’s will!” Yusuke pulled out his cell phone. “I’m reporting you to the police!”

Akira called out in protest, but it was too late—

* * *

** 5/25/2016 ☀ WeDNEsDaY Early Morning**  
**Days Until Legal Action: 11**  
**Steal Madarame's heart**

Akira awoke once again, breathing fast and hard. He looked around his musty attic room. No officers. No Yusuke. Just an aging book with a distinguished odor, which he had checked out from the Shujin library, sitting upon the floor beside his bed. It was entitled _How to Master the Art of Lucid Dreaming._

Right… Akira had found it just last week. The book had been sitting upon a neglected shelf, among a host of others that, in Morgana’s words, smelled “weird.” It made sense that no one had touched it, or any of its neighbors— one could be forgiven for believing the books on that shelf to be a sanitation hazard. Nevertheless, it had been a very helpful read. Well worth the smell.

Satisfied that he was awake and in no danger, he calmed his nerves and thought through what he had just now experienced.

Akira was no longer very afraid of his nightmares. He believed he had learned to conquer them. Now, each time they occurred, he simply refused. He rebelled against them. Just as he would rebel against this awful society in reality. He had to not let his fears defeat him.

But Yusuke’s appearance in his dream had been unexpected, and very much surprised Akira. Why had this happened? What was he afraid of regarding Yusuke?

Akira was glad that Yusuke had, at long last, opened his eyes to the truth. But he had been genuinely concerned that they were making an enemy of him, particularly when he threatened to report them to the police. It could have proved a serious problem if the very person they were trying to save had continued to turn away their help. But Ann had helped expose the truth to him, and for that he was grateful. One less person to have nightmares about.

Or so he had believed. His subconscious mind was evidently not as easy to appeal to as his conscious, logical mind.

As far as Akira could recall, this was the first time anyone besides Sojiro and the officers coming to arrest him had been present in his nightmares. So he was afraid that Yusuke would betray them. This was an interesting development. He would have to learn to psychologically distinguish this false image from the real Yusuke, and fight back against that fear, the same as he had done for the pretentious asshole in a suit.

* * *

Akira stood idly, waiting for his transfer over to the Ginza line in Shibuya. A diligent-looking student with short brown hair wearing a Shujin uniform approached him, and he turned his attention to her, wondering what on earth she wanted with him this time.

Makoto Niijima, the Shujin Academy student council president, had a severe case of bedhead— evidently she had been in a hurry, for some reason. She appeared all-at-once flustered, irritated, and determined. “Ah, Kurusu-kun. We meet again.” she said.

Akira bowed his head in acknowledgement. “Good morning, Niijima-senpai. Can I help you?”

Makoto nervously replied, “Oh, nothing in particular. I was just concerned. I couldn’t help but notice that you’ve been keeping a low profile lately. Why is that?”

She’d noticed? Hm… how was he going to talk his way out of this? If she was already watching them, trying to be inconspicuous would be useless. It seemed there was no end to Makoto’s suspicion. At this point, Akira supposed it could only be diverted if he were to do something so clearly and blatantly suspicious that she took him for a fool and dismissed him.

“What are you talking about?” Akira feigned cluelessness. “I’m acting the same as usual. I’m notorious for being a delinquent and I have no friends. It’s not like I have any good reason to draw attention to myself. Although I guess that’s not so different from your situation…” This wasn’t technically untrue.

At Akira’s comparison between them, Makoto recoiled. “Uh— I suppose—”

“Don’t get me wrong. I sympathize with your situation. Being an honor student and a supposed criminal— we must experience similar levels of alienation from our peers.”

She did not look pleased by this conjecture. “Uh…” Makoto looked at her watch nervously. “I uh— have—”

“My apologies, senpai— am I not correct in my thinking? I suppose it is kind of early, and I didn’t sleep too well last night…”

Again, not an untrue statement. However, it clearly did not do well to ease Makoto’s nerves. “I don’t know what your talking about! I apologize for prying, Kurusu-kun— it must have been my imagination. There are so many suspicious things going on lately…” With that, Makoto turned and fled to the other end of the platform, disappearing into the crowd.

“Suspicious? You don’t say…” Akira muttered.

* * *

**5/26/2016 ☀ THuRsDAY Early Morning PoLLen WaRNinG**  
**Days Until Legal Action: 10**  
**Steal Madarame's heart**

Akira found his mind wandering as he rode the train from Yongen-Jaya. The previous day, he had planned on gathering the Phantom Thieves and setting out to secure a route to the Treasure, but Sojiro had asked for his help in the shop when he returned. So it had had to be today, instead.

The week which had transpired thus far had not been particularly exciting. At least, not since Yusuke had joined their team and pledged to assist them in stealing his sensei’s distorted desires. Akira wondered about that for a moment— was he sure that Yusuke’s feelings on the matter were true? There was that dream, after all...

Akira wandered through Shibuya at a leisurely pace, lost in his reverie. So lost, in fact, that he almost bumped into Yusuke, of all people. “Oh! Hey, Yusuke.”

“Akira, my friend! What a delight to see you. Shibuya is markedly quieter at this hour of the morning…”

“Really?” Akira looked around. Yusuke was right… there were quite a few less people around than during the later hours of the afternoon. The atmosphere felt more… mellow, somehow. “I never thought about much… I guess I haven’t been living here that long, so I wouldn’t really know.”

“Understandable,” said Yusuke. “I’ve encountered many people who have lived here for years, and still don’t take notice of such details. Sensei for instance…” Yusuke looked contemplative for a minute.

“Oh! That reminds me— Are we by any chance going to visit Sensei’s Palace today?”

“Probably, yeah,” Akira affirmed. “But I wanted to talk to you about something first.”

“Oh?”

Akira hesitated for a moment, considering carefully how to phrase his words. “Do you feel alright with this? Changing his heart and all?”

“Hmm…” Yusuke thought it over. “It is a rather important decision… he is my guardian after all…” He thought for a moment more, then spoke with conviction. “But I think yes. I assure you, I have set aside any reservations I may have previously had on the matter.” Akira breathed a sigh of relief. Okay, just a dream. As always, his fears had no merit in reality.

“Why do you ask? Did something happen? Are you not feeling up to it any longer?”

Akira paused once again. Was he feeling up to it? Well, of course he was. He'd felt up to it from the beginning. But— his dream had made him nervous. Something felt off... But it was probably his imagination. Yusuke’s attitude seemed genuine, and he doubted that he would betray the team and vehemently deny his involvement as he had done in the nightmare.

“No, I'm cool. I just wanted to make sure you were sure. It did seem you were pushed into this rather suddenly. I thought you would appreciate the opportunity to change your mind.”

Yusuke responded with an understanding smile. “Thank you, Akira. I do, very much, but my mind has been made up. Sensei has committed no end of horrible atrocities. I would not feel right if I simply let it be.”

“Good to hear.” Akira was now certain that everything was perfectly fine. “I feel the same way. Okay, let's meet up and go to the Palace today! I'll let the others know.”

“Excellent. I shall see you after school then.”

The train to Aoyama-Itchome arrived, and Akira moved to board it. Yusuke began to follow him. “Wait!” Akira said. “Don’t you go to a different school?”

“Oh!” Yusuke looked mildly embarrassed by his error. “My apologies, I was distracted. Yes, the train to Kosei High is elsewhere… how foolish of me.”

Akira laughed. “No problem. See you later!”

* * *

**5/26/2016 ☀ THuRsDAY After School PoLLen WaRNinG**  
**Days Until Legal Action: 10**  
**Steal Madarame's heart**

As he made his way to the Shibuya underground accessway, where the Phantom Thieves were to rendezvous, Morgana whispered in his ear urgently. “Akira! Hold it. I think that girl is following us again.” Akira turned his head slightly, searching for the stalker. He found himself laying eyes upon Makoto Niijima— the Shujin Academy student council president, of all people.

Makoto was wearing her usual Shujin uniform, and had her face buried in a manga volume of some sort. Akira didn’t recognize the name on the cover, but it didn’t look like something a student council president would ordinarily read to pass the time, and certainly not in a crowded place like this, standing up, walking among a busy crowd. If she really was reading it like that, she was posing a danger to herself. Something that a competent, levelheaded student council president would never do.

Morgana was almost certainly right. The president was tailing Akira, and not doing a very subtle job of it, either. “We can’t meet with the others if we have her watching…” Morgana said, evidently worried. “Find a way to shake her off!”

Akira smirked. “Okay! Time to bust my moves.”

“What are you talking about?”

“No need to fret. I’ve got a plan.” Akira said, grinning like an idiot. Outrunning a terribly unstealthy student council president was bound to be exciting.

“Um…” Morgana seemed doubtful. “Okay, well, good luck. Just try to make sure she doesn’t suspect anything.”

Akira walked a ways, made a right, and casually entered a large swarm of subway passengers who had just gotten off the train, all of whom were heading in the opposing direction. As he made his way through them, whistling nonchalantly, he ducked his head below the sea of people and put on a baseball cap, so as to conceal his black hair and make himself harder to track.

Akira made another turn and found himself in the underground mall area, then had a brilliant idea. “Hang on a second… I’m going to buy something!”

“What?!” said Morgana, incredulously. “This is no time for shopping!”

“Ha, don’t worry, it’s all part of the plan…”

* * *

Several long minutes later, Akira Kurusu emerged from the Teikyu Building and into Shibuya Square, wearing his baseball cap, blue tinted sunglasses and a long trenchcoat— which, he thought, was not very unlike his Phantom coat. It was of a simpler design, and beige colored with red patches on the sleeves. To the average onlooker, it may have appeared rather goofy, especially considering that it was completely inappropriate for the current climate. But, in Akira’s opinion, it was rather stylish.

He had never been seen wearing such a thing at school, or anywhere else for that matter, so he was certain this would make him harder to identify among the mass of commuters in Shibuya. Though Morgana had disapproved of this effort, claiming it to be overkill and a waste of time and money, Akira was rather pleased with himself. “Is she still onto us?” he asked discreetly.

Morgana sighed. “After all that? … Yeah. She was one step behind us the whole time.”

“Damn it!” Akira said. “Like, she still sees us, or she just has a general idea of…”

“She sees us,” Morgana clarified. “She’s staring right at me. I am not comfortable with this! Try to get rid of her again. Don’t stop to buy any more clothes, okay? It’ll just slow you down.”

Much as he hated to admit it, Morgana was probably right. Akira had spent longer than he’d intended picking up his newfound camouflage kit. In fact, his strategy was quite possibly as ridiculous as Makoto’s. Ha! some Phantom Thief he was.

Ah well, great minds think alike, right? He couldn’t just simply run away, he would need to outwit Niijima Makoto in order to escape from her sights. “Morgana,” he asked, “if you were Miss President, where would you expect me to go next?”

“That’s difficult to say. I don’t know what Miss President knows about us. Shouldn’t you know that better than me?”

“Let’s assume she knows everything.”

“Everything? Phantom Thieves and all?”

“Yeah. So, around this time— where would we go?”

Morgana mulled over it a minute. “Central Street? Madarame’s house? On the train to go home?”

“Hm… the train! That’s it!” Akira grinned. “We have to break away from her line of sight, then board the train in the opposite direction!”

“Uhh… I’m not sure that will work. Where exactly are we going?”

“Shujin! There’s no reason why I would go back to school, now is there? I mean, I’m the infamous delinquent transfer student, so she wouldn’t expect me to stick around focusing on my studies, now would she?”

“Are you sure about that? You studied in the library just last—”

Akira ignored his cat and rushed back into the underground.

* * *

It took a good many minutes, but Akira was now certain that Makoto Niijima had lost pursuit of him. He found a hiding spot in the alleyway and swiftly removed his trenchcoat, hat, and sunglasses. Upon removing the third item, he remembered his actual glasses— the ones he wore to not draw attention to himself.

Would people recognize him without them? He didn’t actually need them to see— they were his disguise, so, by simple logic, they could easily become his un-disguise, of sorts. He took them off and stuffed them inside his bag along with the other items.

“Aggggh!” yelled Morgana. “You’re crushing me in here!” The lump that was his companion cat and guide wormed its way above the clothes and showed its face to protest. “Why do you keep so much things in here? It’s bad enough that I have to suffer all the tiny space in your desk, but this is insufferable!”

“Sorry!” said Akira. “I’ll try to pack more efficiently when I’m not in a pinch like this trying to lose—"

Someone bumped into him. Akira heard someone yelp, and fell over face-first onto the sidewalk, leaving his bag in a very inconvenient position between his stomach and the pavement. “MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEOHFGGGWWW!” screeched Morgana.

Akira turned his head and saw someone’s hand to his left. In the hand, there was what looked like a manga volume of some sort. Akira didn’t recognize the name on the cover, but it didn’t look like something a— a—

A student council president was on top of Akira, who was on top of Morgana, who was on top of the sidewalk, who was on top of the earth, which was, naturally, crushing Morgana. Wait, what was Akira thinking? Since when was a sidewalk a “who?”

Akira coughed and spat dirt out of his mouth. “Uh, Niijima-senpai— what are you doing? Could you please get off of me?”

Makoto pushed herself up off of Akira. Akira likewise stood up to make eye contact with her. She seemed rather flustered, but she fought to maintain her usual formal attitude. “Ah! Uh— er, Kurusu-kun. My apologies. Is your cat okay?”

“Yeah, uh, he's fine.” Morgana groaned weakly in protest, all the wind having been knocked out of him. He was clearly not fine, but Akira ignored him. “What are you doing here?” he asked. “Why did you suddenly tackle me like this?”

“Uh, I was just keeping an eye out… and, I was so engrossed in my reading. It’s such a good read. I was also looking out for your... your well-being. And I just happened to accidentally trip and fall on top of you.”

Akira pretended to look surprised. “Oh, so you were stalking me?”

“No! Uh, I have to look out for the well being of my peers. It’s part of my duty as student council president… not that you would understand…”

“Oh, no, I **completely** understand.” Akira said knowingly, smirking at her. “You have to keep an eye out for, y’know, suspicious activity, am I right?”

Makoto clearly knew she’d been cornered. “Uh, er… I’m sorry, Kurusu-kun, but, I must be going. I hope I didn’t offend you…”

“Oh no, please, don’t worry about it,” said Akira. “Is there any way I can help?”

“Uhhh… I’m sorry— No thank you. I’ll see you at school tomorrow.” Makoto picked up her manga, put her face back in it, and turned away to leave. But before she could depart, Akira reached out and lowered the cover. Makoto was obviously very nervous.

“You really like that book,” said Akira kindly. He closed his eyes, leaned in over the pages, and locked lips with the president.

Makoto’s face lit up a bright shade of reddish crimson, not dissimilar to the color of Joker’s gloves. She stood there for a solid three seconds, looking dumbfounded, and then ran away in a hurry.

Akira put on his trademark mischievous scowl. “Suspicious activity, am I right?”

“What did you do that for???” Morgana nearly shouted in surprise.

“You’ll see.”

He checked the time. Just about an hour had passed since his quest to escape Makoto’s pursuit had begun. Perfect— there was just enough time left to visit the Metaverse. He opened up the group chat and sent a quick message.

** Sorry about the wait, I was busy eluding a rather passionate pursuer. Let’s go to to the Palace!  **

* * *

“FOR REAL?!” yelled Ryuji.

“Ryuji!” Ann said reproachfully. “Quiet down!”

Akira was now back at the Shibuya accessway with his teammates. “Do you see her now, Morgana?” he asked.

Morgana took a couple of seconds to look around… beat… beat…

“Nope. It looks like you lost her. But why—”

“As soon as she found us the third time, I knew it would be useless to keep trying to get away from her with ordinary methods,” Akira explained matter-of-factly. “We would have been at it all day. I figured if I took advantage of the situation, I could get her to leave us alone herself out of embarrassment. And it worked. Did you see how red she was, Morgana? It was kind of cute, actually…”

“I would have liked to have seen that for myself…” mused Yusuke. “It sounds like a color worth capturing.”

“You call buying a ridiculous coat and sunglasses an _ordinary method_???” said Ann. “But, oh well… you got rid of her, I guess, so, mission accomplished? Akira, you are one daring gentleman. But what if she reports you? I hear her sister works with the prosecutor’s office! You could be in huge trouble if this gets out!”

“Prosecuted, for stealing a kiss?” Akira laughed, ridiculing the notion. “She won’t want to draw attention to herself over something so frivolous,” he assured them all confidently. “It’d cause her more trouble than it’s worth, and people might spread rumors about us, which I’m certain she knows full well wouldn’t serve to benefit anyone.”

Morgana chuckled. “That’s a rather clever line of thinking. It’s very admirable how quickly you think on your feet!”

“Thank you,” said Akira. He was extremely pleased with himself— even more so than he had been when he had changed his attire.

The whole team was impressed at his wild story. “Well,” said Yusuke, “it seems as if we shall have to keep our eyes out for this student body president and her ludicrous reading material of preference. We seem to be rid of her for today, however, so shall we get going?”

“Hell yeah!” said Ryuji.

With that, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts entered Madarame’s Palace to pull off their first official job as a team.

* * *

“Coffee good for you?”

The bell rang, the door opened, the men entered. The police officer and pretentious asshole in a suit were back. “Kurusu Akira. That is your name, yes?” Akira couldn’t say anything. He knew it would be useless to fight his arrest.

“We received an anonymous tip from a fellow student of yours. She has good reason to suspect you of being one of the Phantom Thieves. You’re coming with us…”

“You really screwed up…” said Sojiro.

And then as Akira was being handcuffed, to be brought to this false justice… the door opened again. Niijima Makoto entered, glaring at Akira. She was wearing her average school uniform, but her eyes were nightmarishly unforgiving and utterly menacing. She looked like she wanted to cave his face in. It was utterly terrifying.

“I knew it was you,” she said. “No one else would try something that bold… or that stupid.”

* * *

**5/27/2016 ☀ FRiDaY Early Morning**  
**Days Until Legal Action: 9**  
**Steal Madarame's heart**

Akira bolted upright in bed, breathing heavily.

Everything was alright. Makoto had not reported him. She wasn’t going to. She couldn’t prove anything… right? Right?

Was this because he kissed her? Was he anxious about that? Hmm… No, of course not. What a ridiculous reason to have a nightmare. He had no qualms about initiating that kiss, and as he had said, he was certain there was no need to worry about that specifically.

No, it was because he feared that Makoto knew the truth, and that Ann might be right about her possibly reporting him to the school— or worse, her prosecutor sister. Perhaps Makoto would not care about the trouble it might bring her. Perhaps she hated the Phantom Thieves, and would bring them to justice at any cost. But that was highly unlikely. Niijima Makoto was not the impulsive type. Anyway, even if she did report them, she had no proof. And Akira had successfully discouraged her from obtaining such proof. There was absolutely nothing to worry about!

The route to Madarame’s Treasure had been secured, the calling card would be prepared and sent tomorrow. The Phantom Thieves had pulled off their infiltration flawlessly. There was no need to worry… nothing was going to happen. No one would catch them. No one _could_ catch them, they were Phantom Thieves after all.

So why did Akira feel so uneasy?

Unsure of himself as always, he went back to sleep.

* * *

Akira awakened in chains.

_The Velvet Room…_

He looked around his cell— it looked immaculate, the same as he had left it, the last time he had been here. Caroline and Justine were waiting. “Our master would like to share a few words with you,” said Justine softly. “Pay him your utmost attention, inmate!” Caroline barked.

Akira looked out through the bars. Igor was observing him, the usual bemused expression on his bizarre face. “You have been having… visions.” said Igor. “It may not seem so, but they are important…”

Akira grimaced. “Did you give me these visions? Are they a Metaverse thing?”

Igor laughed haughtily. “No, no. They are but ordinary dreams, simple figments of your imagination, mixed in with elements of your memories, emotions, average daily anxieties and the like. They have no technical correlation to your experiences in the cognitive world. However…” he adopted a curious, intrigued look. “Your memories are important. They will one day, be your salvation… or the catalyst of your ruin.”

Akira was lost. “I don’t understand…”

As always, Igor was not fazed in the slightest by Akira’s confusion. “You will need to navigate a perilous path through your own mind, to uncover the truth and save your future. But, do not worry. It will all become clear to you in time.”

“Time’s up, inmate!” shouted Caroline, and a loud bell rang. The Velvet Room began to fade from existence.

“Remember,” said Justine, with gentle urgency. “Remember this! You will need your memories…” 


	4. The Dreamy Detective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This Akechi guy seems pretty damn legit. Sure, he wears the face of a teenage idol— but is his money where his mouth is? When Akira is challenged to present his opinion on the growing national sensation that is the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, he must keep his tongue in check, lest he be discovered by the Detective Prince...

_**6/6, 6/7, 6/8, 6/9, 6/10, 6/11, 6/12, 6/13, 6/14, 6/15, 6/16, 6/17, 6/18, 6/19, 6/20, 6/21, 6/22, 6/23, 6/24, 6/25, 6/26, 6/27, 6/28, 6/29, 6/30, 6/31, 7/1, 7/2, 7/3, 7/4, 7/5...** _

**??/??/20XX**

Those lips looked familiar… How many times had he… uh. The pres— no —the pros— Oh right. Stands to reason that sisters would share the same lips… what? What the hell was Akira thinking? It must have been the drugs.

Niijima Sae asked him a question, but it barely registered. He was trying to remember something… but the wrong memory kept surfacing. He kept recalling instead, things like Ryuji's concert, his shogi lessons with Hifumi, how he needed to increase his social stats… What on earth were social stats? It must have been something Futaba said.

“What… id you say… out Ma… o?”

Akira was brought back to reality again, and he looked over at Sae, who was observing him with a mix of fierce determination and irritated impatience. “Who? Morgana?”

“No! My sister!”

“Oh, that’s not important yet. Don’t worry about it.”

Sae looked pretty pissed off. “I decide what’s important about this case! Now tell me what happened!”

“Well, I’m sure your colleagues would ridicule you for considering some nut overdosed on drugs rambling about a talking cat morphing into a bus to be this important, yet here you are.” Akira shot back.

Sae sighed. She had to admit that he actually had a point there.

“Fine. What happened next?”

* * *

**6/6/2016** **☁ MoNDaY Early Morning**

The change of heart had worked, and Madarame had now confessed everything. As expected, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts’ first official mission had been a smashing success. Akira sat back and relaxed, checking his texts, thinking of all the good things to come. But yet… he sensed that all was not quite well— soon enough, very soon in fact, a new task would come for the Phantom Thieves. A powerful enemy would challenge them, and they would need to rise to the occasion.

… What the hell was he thinking? This wasn't a video game! Was he…

“Coffee good for you?”

Akira yelped and nearly fell off his chair. Sojiro looked concerned. “What’s the problem? Did I scare you?” Heh… yeah, Boss had given him quite a good scare…

Akira recalled the year… 2016. Okay, cool, not a dream. For some reason he was never able to properly remember the year in his dreams. It always came to him as “20XX.” But nope, it was 6/6/2016, about 6:30 AM, and Akira was just about ready to leave for school.

“Yeah, Boss, I’m alright. I was just really kinda zoned out for a minute and you startled me.” He composed himself and realigned his posture. “Coffee with curry is fine.”

Sojiro poured a cup of coffee, plated the curry, and served Akira his breakfast. After eating, he thanked Sojiro and left.

* * *

Makoto hadn’t been following Akira as studiously anymore. She still used the same manga— though, sometimes only different issues of the same manga. It made her easy to spot in a crowd, and Akira would always scowl mischievously— before quickly detaching himself from her sight. Doing so was much easier than it had been in the past, as Makoto now kept the distance between them a good bit wider.

Today, however, was not such a day. After school, Makoto was nowhere in sight. She had stopped? Hm. Interesting turn of events… anyhow, he decided not to worry. Not too important. Perhaps she had simply given up. About time too…

Akira heard a lot of chatter on the way to the Ginza line.

 _A calling card…_  
_Phantom Thieves? Are they for real?_  
_How does one steal another’s heart?_  
_I’d like to try it out, myself._  
_I don’t know about this job…_  
_That artist dude was just an attention-seeking phony._

“Mornin’!”

Ryuji was still wearing his regular uniform. Akira thought it to be incredibly amusing, but made a concentrated effort to contain his laughter. “Everyone’s talkin’ about Madarame!” said Ryuji triumphantly.

“Seems so.” Akira agreed. “I heard someone saying he was a phony.”

“Well, they might be right about that, but not just him— US, man! Everyone’s going on about the calling card! We did such a great job!” Ryuji was ecstatic.

“Well, I wouldn’t celebrate quite yet.” Akira cautioned him, still struggling to keep himself from laughing at Ryuji’s state of misdress. “Most of them are still pretty skeptical. And besides, we aren’t doing this for fa—”

Ryuji wasn’t really listening. “We scored big, man! I think girls are checkin’ me out. Must be because of my phantom charisma— uh—”

Akira couldn’t control himself anymore. He let out a few suppressed chuckles. Ryuji looked confused. “What’s so funny? Say, Akira, you look a bit different—”

“Yeah,” said Akira, “doesn’t everyone?”

And then it hit him.

“Oh crap! We were supposed to switch to summer uniforms today!” Ryuji’s face fell.

“It’s alright,” said Akira, “I brought an extra, you can change into it at school.”

“Oh, uh, no thanks,” said Ryuji. “I mean, no offense, but I don’t really want to wear your clothes… I’m just gonna go back home and change there.”

“You sure?” Akira asked him. “I’ve never worn it. It’s totally new. You could even keep it if you want.”

“No, dude, don’t worry,” Ryuji insisted. “You should keep that around in case you need it for yourself. I’ll just get going. See you later!”

* * *

**6/6/2016** **☂ MoNDaY Lunchtime**

“There… there’s no way. But then again… it just seems all too convenient for it…”

Students were talking about the Phantom Thieves during lunch period. Ryuji was pretty psyched, again, but Akira had been hearing stuff like this all day. He was kind of bored with it, and really a lot more interested in his text messages and whether or not his worries were unfounded. At least until Ann walked over and greeted them. “Have you found our next big target?”

“I just started looking yesterday!” Ryuji sounded rather incredulous at being pressured to find a target. “No way I’m gonna find one that quick.”

Akira followed the conversation but said nothing. He was quite tired, and not in a talkative mood this morning. _Perhaps,_ he mused, _it would be best that we **don’t** find a new target that quickly._ Ann said something else about a TV station. She seemed excited for some ungodly reason. What was so exciting about a TV station?

“Oh crap, the social studies trip! Uugh, I just wanna ditch it…” Ryuji was complaining, as usual. Akira himself wasn’t too excited about the social studies trip either. That is to say, he wasn’t actively opposed to it, and he certainly wasn’t going to ignore it, but it didn’t sound very exciting. His feeling on the matter was neutral.

Morgana emerged from Akira’s desk, saying, “You better go to your school activities. Didn’t I tell you not to draw attention to yourselves?”

He had a good point. There was no good reason to not skip out on the trip. Ryuji protested some more, but to no avail. “Then let’s all choose the TV station!” Ann said happily, and ultimately Ryuji conceded that it was a good idea.

Akira wasn’t sure about what would be particularly interesting at the TV station, but he figured it could be fun… somehow. Ah well, new experiences, right? Social studies trips at the school in his hometown had never been to very interesting places. The most exciting location they had ever been taken there was to the kitchen of a local ramen shop.

“That guy is such an idiot…” Morgana huffed. “I hope nothing bad happens.”

* * *

**6/6/2016** **☂ MoNDaY After School**

“What are we doing today?” Ann inquired.

“Mementos!” Akira said. “There’s a girl named Hikari Shimizu who’s been bullying some other dude at Kosei High.”

“Ah, yes, I’ve met her,” Yusuke affirmed. “She’s a rather insolent girl… I would very much like to see her have a change of heart.”

“That sounds good to me!” said Ryuji. Ann and Morgana affirmed their positive feelings on the matter, declaring the decision unanimous.

“All right— Let’s get going!” said Akira— and with that, they went to the subway platform and activated the Metanav, and Akira drove Morgana off into the endless underground labyrinth.

And then… nothing happened. They drove on and on and on.

“Isn’t this form of mine the coolest?” Mona wondered aloud. “Hmm…” Panther mused. “It’s more cute than cool.”

“I am fascinated by the notion of a cat transforming into a car,” Fox opined. “I wonder what the rest of us would look like as automobiles.”

“Oooh! I bet I’d be one of those funky ‘hybrid’ eco-friendly cars!” Skull chimed in.

Joker cracked up. “I don’t really think so. You’d probably be more like a ginormous, extremely loud monster truck. Fox would probably be the hybrid— or perhaps a pickup truck. Panther would probably be some kind of fancy carriage.”

“That sounds… very interesting,” said Panther. “Joker, what kind of vehicle do you think you’d make?”

“I don’t know…” he thought it over for a minute. “Maybe a minivan. Minivans are kind of jacks-of-all-trades.”

“Couldn’t we just transform ourselves into vehicles and find out?” wondered Fox. “After all, if Mona can do it, what exactly is there to stop us from doing so as well?”

“It’s not that simple,” explained Mona. “You need to have a lot of proficiency in consciously manipulating cognition, and it needs to be something that the Palace ruler is cognitive of. It’s a little bit harder in Palaces, if the individual Palace ruler is subconsciously skeptical of the idea that cats can turn into buses.”

“Oh yeah, you explained that to us when you first did it.” Skull acknowledged, nodding. “I… kinda get it.”

“Guys,” said Joker, “hate to interrupt, but that Shadow…”

“It looks pretty big…” Panther murmured nervously.

“No way around it. We’re going to have to fight! Let’s go!” Mona said, and with that, Joker hit the gas pedal and rammed into the shapeless mass of Shadow in front of them.

* * *

The Shadow didn’t put up much of a fight, and the Phantom Thieves quickly eliminated it.

“That was… fast.” Skull was equal parts surprised and amused. “What were you saying about it being big, Panther?”

“What? Oh, that was nothing!”

“That was easier than cleaning my brushes,” added Fox. “I feel like we’ve fought an enemy like that before. Joker, are you sure we’re in the right area of Mementos?”

“Um… pretty sure.” Joker checked the Nav. “Wait a second… actually, no. We’re totally mixed up! Shimuzu’s Shadow is in Aiyatsbus, not Chemdah… she’s above us! How on Earth did we end up here…”

“It must be because we started deeper in the real world subway,” posited Morgana. “If we had started at the entrance in Shibuya Square, this would have been a bit easier.”

“Geez!” complained Skull. “Mementos is so goddamn confusing!”

Joker turned Mona around and headed up the escalator in the other direction.

The Phantom Thieves made quick work of Shimuzu, and Joker obtained her Treasure— a Whip Sword. He decided it would probably be best off sold to Iwai— they had no need for it. “Well, that’s that!” said Skull. “Shall we head back then?”

Joker nodded. “We’ve had enough for today. Let’s get out of here.”

Shortly afterward, they returned to the entrance, and took a short break before returning to the real world. “What do you think the TV station will be like?” wondered Panther.

“A TV station?” Fox asked.

“Oh, yeah… well, you won’t be there. We’re going to a TV station for our school’s social studies trip.” explained Joker.

“It sounds intriguing… I don’t have much familiarity with the process of media production. I would certainly like to visit such a place if ever I have the time… Perhaps I could meet with all of you there?”

“That’d be pretty cool!” said Skull. “It’d certainly be more interesting if you came along.” Joker nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I wonder what you would think of it. You should come!”

“He can’t!” said Mona. “It’s on a school day. And even if he could get time off of school or something, the teachers would wonder what some strange person from another school is doing there.”

“Oh well,” said Fox, “It would potentially have been quite enlightening, if I could have come. I suppose there may be another opportunity.”

* * *

**6/9/2016** **☀ THuRsDAY Afternoon**

_**Akira finds the TV station menial and boring, and wishes that Yusuke could have come.** _

_**A charismatic young boy with a clean brown suit, black gloves, and a suitcase with an “A” emblem intrudes upon one of their conversations.** _

_**Akechi:** Oh, am I mistaken? I thought I heard something about delicious pancakes._

_**Akechi laughs nonchalantly.** _

_**Akechi:** No matter. Well, see you tomorrow._

_**A FEW MOMENTS EARLIER…** _

_**Akira, Ryuji, Ann and Morgana discuss their plans for after the first day of the trip is over.** _

_**Morgana:** Oooh, I know a place! I wanna go to that huge pancake-looking place we passed on the way here!_

_**AN INDETERMINABLE NUMBER OF DAYS TO THE FUTURE…** _

_**Sae Niijima is flabbergasted by Akira Kurusu's latest statement.** _

_**Sae Niijima:** What was so important about pancakes?_

_**Akira Kurusu:** …_

_**AN INDETERMINABLE NUMBER OF DAYS FROM THE FUTURE…** _

_**Goro Akechi:** They are taking the law into their own hands by judging him. This is far from justice. And moreover, you should never forcefully change a person’s heart._

_**Moments pass, and words float through the room.** _

_**Announcer:** Let’s try asking this young student here! Hypothetically speaking… what are your thoughts on these “Phantom Thieves,” assuming they are indeed real?_

_**Akira seeks a conclusion…** _

* * *

**6/10/2016** **☀ FRiDaY Afternoon**

Akira was seeking a conclusion regarding how to answer the question now posed to him. How was he to respond without seeming suspicious? If he allowed his innate bias to leak into his response, Goro Akechi— this supposed genius detective— might immediately see through him. He might see through them all…

“Well… they do more than the cops.” Akira said with an illegitimate smile laced across his face. “You couldn’t suppose that the police would ever have tracked down this Madarame fellow, now could you? I imagine you could have, though, given how brilliant you are. They should have assigned you to investigate him.”

The audience laughed. Goro Akechi was very clearly not fazed by this response. “Hahaha, perhaps they should have,” he said, appearing delighted for some reason.

“This is in total opposition of your view that they ought to be tried by law, Akechi-kun.” said the tv show host.

“Indeed,” Akechi acknowledged, winking charismatically. “It is rather intriguing to hear a student present such a strong argument. In that case, there’s one more question I’d like to ask…”

“By all means, please do,” said Akira pleasantly. He didn’t like Akechi all that much, and he sensed that Akechi didn’t really like him either. The feeling was mutual, but thus, so was their attitude to the other. As he felt Akechi was quite possibly doing the same, Akira made an effort to maintain a confident, respectful appearance during the discussion.

“If someone close to you, for example…” Akechi turned his attention to Ryuji. “Your friend sitting next to you— if his heart suddenly changed, wouldn’t you think it was the work of the Phantom Thieves?”

 _How would I know his heart changed?_ Akira thought. _I mean, obviously, we would never change our own hearts, and we couldn’t possibly anyway even if we wanted… but…_

“That would never happen!” Akira laughed jovially at Akechi. “The Phantom Thieves only target criminals. My friend here’s a great guy. He’s done nothing to hurt anyone.” Akira put his arm over Ryuji and patted him on the shoulder. Ryuji gave him a strange look in response.

“How could you be so sure of that?” said Akechi. “Madarame seemed like a truly passionate and inspired artist to many. They had no knowledge of who he really was. Perhaps your friend has a hidden side as well. Perhaps you do too…”

“What if you had such a hidden side, and the Phantom Thieves changed _your_ heart?”

There was an _oooooh_ of surprise from the audience. Akechi seemed taken aback for a split second, but he regained his composure swiftly, and no one seemed to notice. “I wonder what would happen then,” he said. “I suppose if I were to one day burst into this TV station, bawling my eyes out over how wrong I had been about the Phantom Thieves, you would all know, wouldn’t you?”

Everyone laughed once again, and Akechi turned his attention back to the host. The announcer returned to her seat. “Regardless of whether or not their actions are justified, I believe there is a more important matter to consider.”

“And what might that be?” questioned the show host.

“Exactly _how_ do they change people’s hearts? If they honestly possess that ability, it could be used for more than extracting confessions…”

* * *

Was Akechi right?

Maybe he was… Ann had wondered about that. Ryuji had reacted firmly in the negative. But as Morgana said, it didn’t really matter to them. Akechi was naught but some spoiled teenager on TV. What he thought of them, and their justice, hardly mattered.

Akechi had approached Akira afterwards, and said something to him that might be interpreted as extending a hand of friendship… _I feel like our discussions could prove quite fruitful. Would you mind talking with me again?_ Akira didn’t like Akechi much, but he sensed that he meant well, somehow. The young detective was perhaps not an enemy at heart, but at the same time, there was something about him that make Akira uneasy.

Perhaps he was only imagining things. But he wasn’t really sure. There was something suspicious that Akechi had said. Something he was forgetting…

It was probably nothing to worry about. Akira decided to just go to sleep.

* * *

“Hello, Akira. I could tell, you know…”

“Tell what?”

Goro Akechi smiled, and took a seat next to Akira’s usual chair. “You are somehow involved with the Phantom Thieves?”

Akira’s eyes widened in surprise. “How do you know that? Do you have any proof?”

“Oh no, not at all. But I will find proof… I am an ace detective after all. Soon enough I will have to arrest you… but how about we talk in the meantime? I quite enjoy your company.”

Akira picked up his coffee with his gloved hand. Akechi smiled, and began drinking his own. Akira looked around— where had the coffee come from? He didn’t see Sojiro anywhere… was this a dream?

It was 20XX. Well, at least he still remembered how to exercise control over his dreams…

“This is a dream, you know,” he told Akechi.

Akechi nodded. “Oh, I know. I’m dreaming too. Hahaha!” He smiled, in his usual, pleasant princely manner. “It is impressive, how quickly you learned to control your state of mind during sleep… from an old library book. And in so short a time, too! It took me many years before I rose to this level.”

Akechi took another sip of coffee. “I know this isn’t real coffee, but it is quite delicious… I must come by this place in reality sometime. By the way, that is an interesting costume…”

What?

Akira’s hands were gloved, and… he felt his face.

He was in his Joker outfit. But then, why could he not move? Perhaps because… he was afraid of this?

“That’s the attire you wear when acting as a Phantom Thief, correct?”

Akira was shocked by this. “How… how… do you—”

“You may have been the quicker learner,” said Akechi, “however, I have had a great deal more practice. It is several times more difficult to control the dreams of others, but it can be done. If used correctly, it can be used to draw deep secrets from one’s mind, and reveal hidden truths from your target…”

“Is this truly unrelated to the Metaverse?”

“Oh, so that’s how you do it… ah, it all makes sense now. No, it is not. They’re just dreams,” Akechi chuckled. “It simply takes a strong will in reality to believe that dreams can be freely controlled, and a stronger will to find yourself in the dreams of others. It’s not dissimilar to how the cognitive world works— but no, it’s completely separate.”

Akira’s head was spinning. “Okay… Are you going to report me?”

“Oh, heavens, no! I have no good reason to incriminate you, Akira. Not yet. Besides, who would believe me if I said I saw it in a dream? No, you have no need to worry at the time.” Akechi smiled knowingly. “I know time scares you… the endless motions of the calendar… the ticking of the clock... the dark void in which your life will end. It is natural to avoid your fears— but you really ought to face it head on, and choose to not let it rule your mind— just as you did with those police officials.”

“You know about that too?!” Akira was flabbergasted. How long exactly had Akechi been monitoring his psyche?

“Just accept it— this year is **20** ~~ **16**~~ **XX** , and the next will be **20** ~~ **17**~~ **XX**. Life will move forward… and, mark my words…” Akechi’s face turned grimly serious. “You will be brought to justice, and face serious consequences for your actions. But… just not yet!” He reverted to his usual positive temperament. “Do keep that in mind.”

With that, Akechi gulped down the rest of his now cold coffee. Abandoning the empty cup, he exited Leblanc, and swiftly vanished into thin air— leaving Akira alone within his mind.

Akira looked around, feeling slightly more at ease. He sensed that for the remainder of this sleep, this dream would be empty… he had nothing more to fear…

Still in his Phantom outfit, he got up off of his chair and wondered about what had just happened. Was Akechi’s presence in his dream genuine? Had the detective truly breached his inner mind? Did he really know about the Metaverse? And— he had said the year. But Akira’s cognition had apparently censored the introduction of this undesirable information. Akechi had said 20— Sic —X. Aggggghhh… !

This didn’t make any sense. Akira was tired, and he wanted to just forget about it and take a nap… but he was already asleep. This was a different kind of nightmare, but it still did to him the same thing— it defeated the purpose of his rest. Why was it, that as soon as he felt he had solved his problems, new ones emerged?

* * *

Akira awakened, feeling a lot more relaxed than he had been while asleep, ironically enough. Was that dream real, or just his imagination? If it was, they were all potentially in serious trouble. He wondered what he should tell his friends…

But he decided not to worry them. He didn’t know, and besides, Akechi had affirmed that he had no proof of Akira’s guilt, and that there was time. Time, huh?

He had a point about learning to overcome his fear of time. Akira would need to use time, to help himself, to help everyone else… His mind wandered further away from what was most important, and Akira fell asleep once again. That night, he had no more dreams.


	5. Fate of the Priestess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goro Akechi's knowledge is concerning. But more importantly, the student council president is not one to be deterred by the simple theft of a kiss...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Sorry about the lack of updates, but I've been kinda struggling with maintaining productivity etc. Chapter 3 of Leaf is being worked on, but I've gotten a bit stuck with the plot and things. (Don't worry, I'll figure it out.) Mac also seems kinda busy and I don't feel like waiting for him, so, this is a solo update today. He didn't really do anything here.
> 
> I fixed a few bits of dialogue here that had issues with characterization and such, as well as the usual style changes. Plus extended one of the scenes. I was going to drop the patched chapters 5-10 all at once, but there's some stuff I'm struggling with whether or not to change, so that's kinda being worked on. I'll probably drop the rest of this in batches like I did the first time, so, idk.
> 
> But maybe you all would prefer that I update this bit by bit. Or I might just drop the chapters whenever I feel like or as I finish their edits (that could put only hours between the updates, rather than days, unless I decide to wait for Mac's input). Idk, let me know.
> 
> Hope y'all have a good day etc!

**6/11/2016 ☁ SATuRDaY Lunchtime**

“If someone else could help ‘em, WE WOULDN’T BE DOIN’ STUFF AS THE PHANTOM THIEVES TO START WITH!” Ryuji shouted.

“Gahh!! Shut up!” Akira hissed. They were out in the Shujin courtyard. The last thing he wanted was to attract attention after the social studies trip. He had been forced to walk a fine line between speaking his mind and diverting suspicion from himself, and after meeting Akechi in his dream, he had grown very paranoid. Perhaps more paranoid than he had ever been in his life. Ryuji’s shouting was NOT helping his nerves.

He looked around, and, to his relief, saw no one in the immediate vicinity. No one seemed to have heard Ryuji— except Ann, who walked over and punched him. “Ow!” Ryuji protested, but the punch had no real force behind it, and he wasn’t really hurt. “You’re being way too loud!” Ann said.

“Who cares? Everyone’s talkin’ about this stuff anyway. It’d only be more suspicious if we were whispering.”

“Dude,” Akira was baffled by this recklessness. “You have it backwards.” Ryuji ignored him. Ann was eating some sort of snack— Akira wasn’t really paying attention to what it was. “Are you gonna keep eating and eating those things all by yourself? Come on, gimme some!”

Ann quickly shoved one of them into her mouth, then put down the container. “Sorry! Just ate the last one.”

Ryuji groaned in disappointment.

“You guys are too laid back,” Morgana said, poking his head up out of Akira’s bag. “The police are getting involved now, you know.”

Akira chose to voice his assent— “My thoughts exactly. Perhaps we ought to move this conversation elsewhere.”

“Where else are we supposed to go, man?” Ryuji countered. “Not like anywhere else is a better place to hide.”

“We’ll be okay if we keep this up, right?” Ann said, sounding rather worried.

Akira sighed, somewhat deflated. “I seriously don’t know.”

“Come on, guys!” said Ryuji. “We can’t let the cops scare us outta bein’ Phantom Thieves!”

“But what about that black mask guy Madarame’s Shadow mentioned? Isn’t there a lot we don’t know?”

_CLICK!_

The unmistakable light of a camera flash enveloped the three motley teenagers. Everyone turned their heads in surprise at the photographer— the ever-persistent Makoto Niijima. “The hell?!” Ryuji yelped.

“The three of you seem to be having so much fun… to be frank, I’m a little jealous.” The student council president smiled at them all, acting much pleased with herself for some reason.

* * *

Makoto Niijima smiled wickedly. _YES._ She’d cornered them. She could pull out her phone right now and show them…

No. That would have to come later. If she told them now, it would likely cause Sakamoto-kun to start screaming about it again. That would likely attract attention, and Makoto did not want that. It would cause disorder. She would have to talk to Kurusu-kun, later, in private…

“Are you snoopin’ on us again?!” Sakamoto asked, indignantly. “We told ya before, we don’t know nothin’!”

“Why do you think I’m here to question you?” Makoto responded icily. “Could it be that you’re hiding something? My ears are always open to the troubles of my peers, you know.”

She turned and locked eyes with Akira Kurusu. Although she didn’t want to admit it, his kiss had tasted pretty good…

“And you, Kurusu-kun. You look quite nervous… have you dispensed with that overconfident facade?”

“What are you talking about?” Kurusu asked, his voice sounding defensive. “I’m always like this. I’d be more concerned about you, Niijima-senpai. You seemed pretty embarrassed about following me a few weeks ago.”

Makoto’s cheeks flushed at the memory, but she quickly forgot it and turned to Ann. “Regardless… and you, Takamaki—”

But Ann interrupted.

“You’re really that hungry for a good letter of recommendation?” she asked, sighing spitefully. “Of course you are… no one would take on this annoying job if they weren’t.”

It was this accusation that broke the proud expression on Makoto’s face. “What’s that supposed to mean?!”

* * *

Makoto left them rather quickly after being called out by Ann. Clearly, the latter had hit a nerve, and the former’s spirit had fallen. “Just make sure you show up to your classes, all right?” she had said, dejectedly.

She seemed quite sad, and Akira actually felt a bit sorry for her. But there was nothing he could do, so he let it go.

Soon after, Akira and the Phantom Thieves gathered at Leblanc, and Sojiro agreed to let Yusuke stay the night. He took his suitcase and other luggage upstairs, and sat on the couch.

“I can sleep here,” Yusuke said gratefully. “Thank you very much for all your help with Madarame.”

“No problem,” Akira replied. “I’m really happy to have you on this team, and as a friend.”

“I appreciate that very much,” Yusuke said, smiling.

As Akira sat down on his bed, Yusuke asked, “Akira— is there anything I ought to know before we slumber?”

“Well…” Akira wondered if it was important, then decided it was probably best that he at least let him know. “I sometimes have crazy dreams. I wake up in the middle of the night, but I usually just go straight back to sleep. Do you think that would bother you?”

“Oh, no, I generally tend to sleep very soundly,” Yusuke assured him. “I am not easily roused, so I should be perfectly fine. But, just out of curiosity— what are these dreams about?”

“Well…” After carefully considering it for a brief moment, Akira decided there was no harm in elaborating further— though it would probably be best to not mention that Yusuke had appeared in one of them.

“They usually involve the authorities finding out some way or another that I’m guilty of something, or that I’m a Phantom Thief. They come to arrest me and then I wake up. Sometimes variations happen, like other people showing up with them, or them having different reasons for showing up.”

“I see. That sounds rather upsetting,” Yusuke noted.

“Yeah… but it’s alright. I’m working out how to deal with it.”

Akira showed Yusuke the lucid dreaming guide, which he had not yet returned to the library. He wasn’t planning on doing so anytime soon— he had a feeling no one would miss it. “I read this book, and I’ve been practicing its techniques to control my state of mind so that I can manipulate my dreams and make it less stressful.”

Yusuke opened the book. “Hmm, it possesses a peculiar odor… Perhaps I should hold my nose.”

He turned to the opening pages and read out loud: “‘An introduction… The art of lucid dreaming, for many eons an enigma among men, a gift from the gods…” He frowned skeptically. “I’m not sure the history presented is entirely correct, but…”

He flipped ahead a few pages and observed some text in a later chapter. “‘To take control of one’s dreams, one must first set their mind at ease with this series of Heavenly Meditation Exercises…’”

Yusuke continued reading for a few moments. “My, imagine the possibilities, if I could control the flow of my dreams… the beauties I could uncover from within my own unconscious…”

He continued on reading for a short time, absolutely enthralled by the text. “Akira, this is a fascinating piece of literature. May I borrow this?”

“Uh, sure!” said Akira. “Well, it’s not technically mine— it’s from the Shujin library—”

“I’m sure it will be fine,” affirmed Yusuke, “I am very good at taking care of books. When is it due?”

“Uh, you can return it whenever. It wasn’t exactly popular. I don’t think the staff even remember it being checked out.”

“I see,” said Yusuke. “Thank you very much… I will return it as soon as I have finished perusing it.”

“Sounds good. I’m kind of tired, so, we should probably go to bed now…” He placed his head on the pillow. “Sleep well!”

Akira was not going to sleep well himself, however.

* * *

“Coffee good for you?”

_20XX…_

_Where am I?_

_My head hurts…_

The two officers entered, same as usual. “Akira Kurusu— that is your name, yes?”

“I couldn’t tell you for sure.” Akira replied, taking a sip of his coffee and not looking at them. “What does this ‘Akira Kurusu’ look like?”

The TV turned on, and Akira’s face appeared on the screen. “Well,” said the pretentious suited asshole, “if I had to guess, I’d say he looks a lot like that…”

Akira dropped his cup of coffee, and it shattered upon the floor— along with his prior confidence that, tonight, he would have his way in this dream…

Ryuji’s voice erupted out of the speakers, about as loud as an elephant trumpeting. “HEYYY everybody, thanks for coming out tonight!” he shouted, as Akira’s photo was relegated to the upper right corner to make way for Ryuji's face. Ryuji was surrounded by a host of attractive women on a spectacularly lit stage. He was wearing his Skull outfit, and carried an electric guitar, which was attached to a strap slung over his shoulder.

“My name is Ryuji Sakamoto aka Skull, and we’re going to rock the world! But first, I’d like to thank my best friend AKIRA KURUSU!!! It’s thanks to him leading the PHANTOM THIEVES that I got this far!” An offscreen crowd could be heard cheering their hearts out. “Now— LET’S JAM!”

Ryuji began strumming randomly and singing some meaningless, poorly written English lyrics. Akira strongly suspected that Ryuji did not know how to sing or play guitar in the slightest, and his English was absolutely atrocious.

As such, he was baffled when the crowd went wild for Ryuji and cheered him on. Did this audience have no taste for good music? But more importantly, how the hell had he gotten on TV to play a concert and announce his and Akira’s identity to the entire population of Tokyo? This was probably the dumbest dream he’d had yet… but then again, this totally seemed like something Ryuji might do, were he given the opportunity.

“I think you understand,” said the suited man. The policeman restrained Akira and pushed his face down against the bar while he was handcuffed. As he was arrested, once again, the tv channel changed— despite the fact that Akira did not see anyone with the remote to do so.

Makoto Niijima was now on the screen, again wearing her school uniform against a perfectly white background. Her eyes bore straight into his soul, and her voice— emotionless, with no trace of sympathy to be found —echoed not just throughout the room, but seemingly through his mind.

“I’m quite surprised and amused that a member of a dangerous criminal group was vain and loud enough to sell themselves and their friends out to the entire population of Japan… simply because they desired the attention. You have very foolish friends, Kurusu-kun.”

* * *

**6/13/2016 ☁ MoNDaY After School**

Akira was not worried in the slightest about being discovered, he told himself. If anything, he was worried about Makoto. Not finding them out, but about her personally. She hadn’t been following him for a week now, and most times when he had seen her she averted eye contact and hid behind her textbooks, or in the student council room. But then again, she wasn’t really talking to anyone.

A notice had been put up recently calling for information to be delivered to the student council president. Akira didn’t know who had put it up, or why.

Just earlier this week, he had visited the library— but finding it too noisy, opted to read a book in the third floor hallway instead. Thinking back to that afternoon, he recalled a couple of students visiting the council room. Makoto had emerged a few moments later and gone downstairs, apparently to see someone. She was doing her best to hide it, but it was not difficult to see that she was at her wits’ end.

If she was still investigating the Phantom Thieves, she must have found herself on a wild goose chase. Akira was sorry that she had to endure this nonsense, but at the same time he was elated that he and his friends had proved themselves to be difficult to trace. Yet, a simple schoolgirl was not much of a test. The police on the other hand…

Wait.

Makoto Niijima might not have any legitimate proof, but she still had a lead… that was something the police did not have. Hmm, it was true— what the authorities lacked in information, the president well made up for with her convenient proximity to the location of the case. And knowledge of such location to start with…

He could not let his guard down yet. She was certainly not to be dismissed. Nonetheless… _Everything is fine. Your dream was a dream. Everything is just fine, Akira._ He took a deep breath.

Class was over. Akira hadn’t been paying attention, but for some reason, he was confident that he would be just fine. Everything would be okay. Everything would be okay… okay… he stood up to leave, but heard Kawakami’s voice.

“Oh good, you haven’t gone home yet.” He turned to see what she wanted.

“Niijima-san—”

With that, Akira’s hair stood on end.

* * *

Akira entered the student council room, trying to contain his fears. Had he been found out? “Niijima-senpai, is there a problem?”

Makoto’s face was stone cold, but pleasantly neutral. She acted hospitably, but clearly, this was a serious meeting. “Please, have a seat.” He did so. “Now… I’ll get straight to the point.”

“She doesn’t sound too friendly,” whispered Morgana from inside his bag.

“Kamoshida-san. Madarame. Won’t you tell me the truth… about the Phantom Thieves?”

“Excuse me?”

“Of course… there’s no way you would admit to such things.” Makoto retrieved her smartphone. “Now, please, don’t think you can escape this by making out with me again…” she tapped the screen. “Have a listen.”

_“If someone else could help ‘em, WE WOULDN’T BE DOIN’ STUFF AS THE PHANTOM THIEVES TO START WITH!”_

Akira nearly jumped out of his chair. _Dammit Ryuji…!!!_

His nightmare had come true.

Makoto stopped the recording. “Now… I wonder, what could this mean? What would the school think of this? Or the police… How do you do this? Blackmail? Hypnosis? Please, enlighten me.”

The recording… could it be talked around in an interrogation? Could he say they were role playing or something like that? Or that Ryuji had been practicing his voice? Perhaps… He overcame his shock long enough to formulate a response.

* * *

**_Akira sits up straight._ **

**_Akira:_** _I’m not sure, myself… I’m curious about these guys too. I hear they’re kind of OP, y’know? Like, crazy. Those calling cards, though_ _— those are a bit much. Not sure I’m into that…_

**_Makoto is not convinced._ **

**_Makoto:_** _Oh, so this doesn’t prove anything, huh? You think the authorities will buy whatever excuse you have cooked up?_

 **_Makoto:_** _Please don’t misunderstand… I’m of an open mind about this situation. This could be much worse for you, Kurusu-kun— in fact, I’d call this a golden opportunity. If you cooperate with me, I don’t mind sharing secrets…_

**_She gives him a soft, hopeful smile._ **

**_Akira:_** _I have a right to be silent._

**_Makoto sighs in disappointment._ **

**_Makoto:_** _Please. You realize that’s the same as admitting to it? If you have no intention of confessing to me…_

**_Akira’s face falls._ **

**_Akira:_** _Please don’t, I beg you… I’ll_ —

**_Akira’s phone rings._**

* * *

****The caller ID showed Ryuji’s picture. Crap.

Akira made to dismiss the call and put his phone away, but Makoto grabbed his hand and forced it upwards, away from his pockets. “Go on. Answer it.”

And so, Akira reluctantly accepted the call with his thumb. As he did so, he decreased the speaker volume with his ring finger.

It was no use. Ryuji’s voice was clearly audible throughout the whole room, and Akira wouldn’t have been surprised if it were faintly audible in the hallway.

 _“Hey, where you at? Takin’ a leak? Let’s meet up at the usual spot to hold our_ **_Phantom Thieves meetin’!!”_ **

_NO!!!_ Akira pulled the phone away from his ear.

“... THAT IDIOT!!” Morgana was just about as freaked as he was, evidently.

“My, your friend _and_ your cat both seem rather loud today,” Makoto remarked. She smiled again, seeming extremely happy with this outcome.

Akira had lost this game— Makoto undeniably had the upper hand in this exchange. Not like he had ever had a chance. He resigned to defeat. “What do you want me to do?”

“Won’t you take me to your friends?”

* * *

** 6/16/2016 ☁ THuRsDAY Evening **  
**Days until Reported to Police: 12**

The second Akira got off the phone with Makoto, he went upstairs and simply collapsed upon his bed. The utter stress at seeing something out of his dreams manifest in reality earlier this week had been too much for him. And now he was investigating a mob boss, of all people… This was unbelievable. This entire week took the cake for the most surprising in recent history.

Was Makoto an enemy? … or a friend? He had been wondering this for quite awhile but now he was more uncertain than ever. Her conditions that they prove their justice seemed genuine, but what if she was setting them up? What if all she wanted to do was turn around and backstab them? But he wasn’t sure. She had called this a “golden opportunity…”

But were they really lucky to have her offer the chance to redeem themselves to her? He couldn’t be sure. For the time being, he didn’t really want to think about it.

* * *

** 6/11/2016 ☁ MoNDaY After School **  
**Days until Pics Leaked:** ** 19**  
**Steal Kaneshiro's heart**

This evening had certainly been a memorable one. Akira’s anxieties had been, by and large, dispelled from memory. Makoto was now unquestionably their ally. She also had an awesome Persona. A bike… Akira wasn’t really into motorcycles, personally, but he thought it was awesome. Very awesome.

Ryuji clearly agreed, as Akira saw when his phone beeped.

Ryuji: ** Damn, motorcycles are cool…  **

Ryuji: ** I wish my Persona was like that.  **

Yusuke: ** Yours is on a ship though.  **

Ryuji: ** Dude, are you kidding?! Motorcycles are way cooler than dumb boats!  **

The messages continued as Makoto entered the conversation, changed the subject and apologized for her rash actions. Akira wasn't sure that was right, though... she had enabled their entrance into the Palace, after all.

** Please, don’t worry about it. We wouldn’t have gotten to Kaneshiro any other way. I agree that you acted rashly, but this was all for the best.  **

For a moment, nothing happened.

_ **Makoto and Ann are typing…** _

_ **Yusuke and Ann are typing…** _

_ **Ryuji and Makoto are typing…** _

_ **Several people are typing…** _

Ultimately, no one said anything. Akira wondered if he had perhaps been a bit insensitive. He should have thought about what he was saying a bit more…

But then, his phone buzzed four times in quick succession. They had all replied simultaneously.

Makoto: **That may have been the case, but I ought to at least have explained myself...**

Ann: **Akira, I'm sure there may have been another way to do this without placing ourselves in this situation. We could have reasoned with Makoto.**

Yusuke: ** It is indeed regrettable. Perhaps you are correct, Akira, but I am sure we all could have come up with a better solution if we'd took a few minutes to think and all worked together.  **

Ryuji: ** Dude, we ended up owing THREE MILLION YEN to a crook! “All for the best?” Are you serious?!!  **

There were a couple minutes of radio silence. Presumably, everyone was reading each other's messages.

_ **Makoto is typing...** _

Makoto: ** Thank you anyways, Akira... and to all the rest of you as well, for coming to my rescue. I'll see you all tomorrow.  **

And that was that. Akira still had something else he wanted to say, though… so he sent an individual text to Makoto.

** I want to apologize to you personally.  **

** I didn’t trust you…  **

Makoto: ** Of course not… I was following and interrogating you, after all. I even blackmailed you.  **

Makoto: ** I understand that didn’t exactly engender trust between us. There’s no need for you to apologize.  **

** Right. It’s just, the night before you confronted me, I had this weird dream…  **

Makoto: ** What?  **

** It was basically about you finding out and everything.  **

Makoto: ** I see. I didn’t expect you to take it well, but you did look much more rattled than I anticipated. It makes sense. **

** Also, you were on TV, and Ryuji was doing this crazy concert thing.  **

Makoto: ** I don’t need to know. Nor do I really want to. I would prefer that people of the opposite sex keep any dreams about me to themselves.  **

** Uhh… it’s not like that.  **

Makoto: ** I don’t think it is, I’m just not interested.  **

** Okay… when you say “not interested…”  **

Makoto: ** My own dreams are less than pleasant. I would prefer not to discuss them.  **

Akira wondered what to say to this. He typed a few iterations of a reply, but kept deleting them again and again. He wasn’t quite sure how to make this sound not weird.

Makoto: **See you tomorrow, Akira. Good night.**

** … Good night.  **

* * *

The days passed him by, and the clock ticked away. Akira saw his weeks fly by, flashes of memory floating above the surface in a sea of disregarded time…

_Time…_

_“We must go to the Palace today. We don’t have the luxury of time anymore.”_

_“I’m sure the change of heart worked… we’re forgetting something…”_

_“We ran out of time! We haven’t stolen Kaneshiro’s heart yet!”_

_“Dude, what the hell?”_

And then he was in Leblanc…

 ** 7/9/20XX ☀ SATuRDaY After School **  
**Days until Pics Leaked:** ** 0 **

His phone lit up with a notification:

**_One (1) Unread Voicemail Message_**

Akira’s hands and heart shaking and beating a bazillion miles a minute, he pressed the play button, and heard Makoto’s voice…

 _“Akira! Akira, Kaneshiro_ — _”_ There were other, menacing voices in the background, swearing abrasively. It sounded like a struggle was occurring. A clattering noise was heard— Makoto had apparently dropped her phone. _“AKIRA!!! HELP ME!!!”_ The voice was shrill, desperate and ghostly. Akira dropped his phone in shock.

What had he done… ???

“Hey…”

Sojiro had apparently materialized out of nowhere while he wasn’t looking. He was nonchalantly brewing coffee, unaware of Akira’s anguish. “Coffee good for you?”

_ding_

Akira was fated to meet his doom now. There was nowhere else to go. He could not move… he was trapped… he fought to recall his rebellious will, his Joker outfit… before the men… before they…

“Akira Kurusu. That is your name, yes?”

“N-no-o”

or so he thought, but his voice did not come out. He had no strength to fight back. He may have learned the art of lucid dreaming, but he had certainly not mastered it.

“Yes…” he said meekly.

“A high school girl was taken into custody at an establishment for illegal services yesterday. Through her drug-induced stupor, she managed to identify one name clearly— yours.”

_"Illegal services?" What the shit? …_

_My head hurts…_

_No no no no NO! I WILL NOT_ —

_I can’t… it’s 20XX after all…_

“We’d like to speak in more detail about the ramifications of this.”

Sojiro was stunned. “What the hell did you do?!”

“You’re coming with us…”

 _MAKOTO!!! And what about… everyone else…_ **_NO!_**

* * *

**_7/9, 7/10, 7/11, 7/12, 7/13, 7/14, 7/15, 7/16, 7/17, 7/18, 7/19, 7/20, 7/21, 7/22, 7/23, 7/24, 7/25, 7/26, 7/27, 7/28, 7/29, 7/30, 8/1, 8/2, 8/3, 8/4, 8/5, 8/6, 8/7, 8/8…_ **

**??/??/20XX**

**_Sae Niijima is stunned._ **

**_Sae: What_ ** **—** **_Makoto?! That’s impossible! That could not have_ ** **—**

**_Sae takes a moment to recover._ **

**_Sae: YOU'RE LYING TO ME!!!_ **

**_Akira: I’m sorry, I’m sorry_ ** **—** **_I_ ** **—** **_I can’t remember! I don’t— I’m sure it was— it was—_ **

**_Sae: NO! Is THAT the entirety of your testimony? Are you serious?_ **

**_Akira is too far gone, and her words do not seem to register._ **

**_Sae: Please! Kurusu! Please tell me the truth!_ **

**_He does not respond._ **

**_Sae: Do you have no intention of saying anything more? Or is the overdose…_ **

**_Sae’s face adopts a defeated expression._ **

**_Sae: It seems it’d be a waste of time to speak to you any further… It’s unfortunate._ **

**_Sae stands up and EXITS the interrogation room._ **

**_…_ **

**_…_ **

**_…_ **

**_A mysterious figure enters…_ **

**_The effects of the drugs cloud Akira’s vision, and he cannot determine their identity._ **

**_He feels the barrel of a pistol pressed against his sweating forehead._ **

**_Mysterious Man: Allow me to enlighten you…_ **

**_Akira remembers too late_ **

**_!!!_ **

* * *

****Akira awakened, breathing hard and fast. That had been the most terrifying dream of them all… Makoto… !

The calling card had been delivered, right? Makoto and Ryuji had posted it up all around Shibuya. They were stealing the Treasure—

 **7/2/2016 ☁ SATuRDaY Early Morning**  
**Days until Pics Leaked:** **7**  
**Steal Kaneshiro's heart**

Today!

Had they done it? Had they truly done it? He pulled out his phone and messaged the Phantom Thieves chat.

** We sent the calling card, right?  **

But no one was awake to respond.

He went back to sleep… feeling even more restless than usual. It wasn’t until later, at breakfast, that he saw a response.

Ryuji: ** Dude, what’re you talking about? Of course we sent the calling card!  **

Makoto: ** Yes, yes. I’m certain he’ll have seen it. My sister received a call about it as well this morning.  **

Ann: ** Don’t worry! Everything’s going to be fine!  **

Yusuke: ** Oh, good morning, everyone. Akira, is something wrong? Have you had another one of those dreams?  **

Makoto: ** Oh, those… You mentioned them…  **

** Yep, it was fucking horrible. It was one of those times when you wake up, and you’re not sure if you’re still awake or not, you get what I mean?  **

Ryuji: ** Whoa! Yeah, I totally know what you mean. What happened? In your dream, I mean.  **

** … You don’t want to know. It was terrifying.  **

Ann: ** Really? … that makes me curious. Well, if you don’t want to share it, that’s okay of course. :)  **

Yusuke: ** Did your lucid dreaming not help?  **

** Yeah, I need to get better at that, I think?  **

Makoto: ** Lucid dreaming?  **

** It’s when you’re conscious of the fact that you’re dreaming while it’s happening.  **

** If you’re good enough, you can manipulate your dreams and make basically whatever you want happen. I’ve done a little bit of that, but I’m not quite an expert or anything. I read a book about how to do it.  **

Yusuke: ** Yes, Akira lent me that book. I must say, it has been very helpful. The dreams I’ve been having lately… last night, I dreamed that I was engaging in a body painting activity with a crowd of other beautiful men such as myself.  **

Ann: ** What?!  **

Ryuji: ** Dude, that sounds like a wild dream… what did you dream about before?  **

Yusuke: ** I’m not really sure, actually… before I borrowed this book from Akira, I had hardly any dreams, and barely remembered them. This has opened a whole new world to me.  **

Makoto: ** I’ve never had lucid dreams… the concept sounds quite fascinating.  **

Yusuke: ** It truly is.  **

Ann: ** I have lots of dreams! One time I dreamed that I upstaged Mika and totally embarrassed her, another time that I was in a swimming pool for a photo shoot, and that I was a sexy film hero… well, that’s kind of a dream of mine anyway.  **

Ryuji: ** My dreams are usually about dumb things like eating until I barf or running through the woods naked.  **

** That sounds like fun.  **

Ryuji: ** Really?  **

** No, not really.  **

Yusuke: ** How absurd…  **

Yusuke: ** In any case, thank you, Akira, for lending me this book. I’ve just about finished with it and will return it at the earliest opportunity. Good luck with controlling your dreams.  **

** Thanks everyone. See you later!  **

Akira ate his breakfast and left. Today was one of those rare days when he felt just as confident in reality as he usually did when phantom thieving in the Metaverse.

* * *

**7/2/2016 ☁ SATuRDaY Evening**  
**Days until Pics Leaked:** **7**  
**Await the change of heart**

As Yusuke had promised, he returned _How to Master the Art of Lucid Dreaming_ the very same day, almost immediately after they changed Kaneshiro's heart. It was now that Akira was rereading it, looking for passages he might have missed which could help him improve his skills.

How, he wondered, does this book work its magic, anyway? It had turned him into a lucid dreamer— certainly not the best lucid dreamer, but easily an adequate one, after a few short weeks of reading. Yusuke had caught on to the method extremely quickly as well, and was now apparently having his own bizarre dreams and gaining inspiration for his newest artworks. Akira was glad that he’d figured this out, but he found it strange.

Shouldn't this stuff take more practice? One person learning quickly was one thing. But two? This book was pretty great, if a little baffling in the way it was written, but it did seem somewhat suspicious. And why had it been in the Shujin library, of all places? Why would anyone working or studying at Shujin take any interest in this? Especially since there were probably better-written, more reputable books on the subject.

Akira supposed it didn't matter much... it had worked! It did the job. Why was he worried? … it was just a book. There was nothing to worry about.

He happened upon a chapter entitled “Demons, And The Strategies For Expelling Them.” Upon the pages, he observed a seemingly relevant passage:

 _From time to time, the avid lucid dreamer may encounter_ **_demons_ ** _in their dreams. These demons are one of two types, and do not always manifest as humanoid or even physical forms, but often as concepts or perceived implications of a particular event in a dreamer's life in the real world._

_However, most of these demons are no trouble, and can be easily expelled by a competent mind. If you find any such presence to be incomprehensibly troubling, you are not worthy of this power, and as such should relinquish it to the superior demons which your feeble mind has created..._

What?

Why would the book tell him to surrender to the demons? Akira didn’t recall it saying any such thing when he first read it, and found it extremely suspicious. In fact, the entire book was quite vague. How had Akira not noticed the first time how nonsensical it was? It was certainly an interesting book— fascinating, as Yusuke had said, though this was just Yusuke's kind of thing anyway.

Upon a second look, he noticed that it spoke of things that either to his knowledge did not really exist, or were not properly explained, if they were explained at all. It certainly didn't help that it lacked an index. Had this book really helped him that much? Perhaps all it had really done was give him the confidence necessary to lucid dream.

Akira decided that it probably wouldn't be much further help, and that he would return it to the library tomorrow.

* * *

Akira was in Leblanc again.

“Coffee good for you?"

The door opened, and Akira braced himself for the officials to enter. “Akira Kurusu. That is your name, yes?”

“Nahhh.”

Akira stood up and his costume changed. Now Joker, he prepared to rebel against his fate once more— as he did, every night when some demon, as the book called it, decided to stop by. He scowled once again, and, ready to resist, waited for them to move in on him—

But then there was a loud, distinctive _snap!_ and with that, Sojiro, the policeman, and the pretentious asshole in a suit, all vanished. Two full cups of coffee materialized at the bar.

“Greetings!” said a pleasant young boy's familiar voice. Goro Akechi, once again, had without invitation barged into Akira's dreams.


	6. Joker vs Crow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Akechi's reappearance, the game between thief and detective begins. Meanwhile, a mysterious yet somewhat familiar girl gets a ride home in the rain. Special Guest Appearance by a Fishing Master Captain!

“Greetings!”

Akira blinked the sleep— sleep? wake? whatever it was —out of his eyes, and grimaced at Akechi. “You again?”

“Me again,” Akechi replied cooly. “I’ve been meaning to come visit outside of our dreams, but I’ve been so busy… not that that matters to you, of course.”

Akira was once again wearing his Joker outfit. He also felt somehow more at ease than the last time Akechi had intruded…

“It seems you no longer fear the implications brought upon you by my presence here,” Akechi commented. “Very well done! You’re no longer confined to that chair. With that, I suppose you could move about the kitchen here, and make another cup of coffee.”

Akira took a minute to process this information. “I’ll pass on the coffee. But, what exactly do you mean? I didn’t see anything like this mentioned in that book I read…”

“Ah, yes,” Akechi nodded with immediate understanding, “I have read parts of that book. It explains things very poorly.”

“Oh, you learned from the book too?”

“Oh no, I had a particularly talented individual guide me in how to achieve this ability,” Akechi clarified, “but I have happened to see that book. It seems to be full of much cryptic hyperbole.” He took another sip of coffee. “Though it is understandable, considering its questionable origins.”

“Questionable origins?”

Akechi put some sugar in his coffee. “Well, I can’t determine why, but the book is alive somehow. You see, it rewrites itself from time to time. The content remains the same fundamentally, but small things are changed, and occasionally entire passages or even whole chapters are entirely replaced.”

Akira was confused. “Uh… and how did this book come to… er…”

“As I said, I haven’t the foggiest idea.”

“Okay, uh— never mind the sentient book. What about my other question?”

“Ah, about your fear of my presence? Very well. You see…”

With the utmost pleasant patience, Akechi carefully explained. “You understand the basic concept, right? You were able to resist arrest when you no longer feared the officials. Before that, you were locked into a state of inaction in which you were railroaded into complying with the path of your dream by the will of your fears…”

“The will of my fears?”

“Well, it’s an expression of sorts,” Akechi clarified. “The point is, as soon as you dispel your fears from your dream, then assuming no new ones emerge, you are able to act freely and manipulate the dream to your liking.”

“Does that mean I can make you leave?” Akira snapped.

Akechi laughed. “Ahahahaha!” He kept laughing for a minute until he coughed, and then regained control of himself. “Sorry, that was rather rude of me. I just found the way you asked that very funny.” He took another sip of coffee. “Unfortunately, no.”

“And why is that?” Akira was a little irritated by Akechi’s fake-feeling attitude. He was _too_ polite. It was one thing on TV, but to wear this obviously false face in conversation was something else entirely. He played the kind of character whom you would laugh at in a show, but in an actual conversation would ultimately grow to loathe.

Not seeming to take any notice whatsoever of Akira’s passive-aggressive response to his temperament, Akechi continued his explanation.

“Two reasons. The first is rather complicated, so I’ll simplify it somewhat for you. While you may be cognitive of your wish to push me out, I am cognitive of my wish to remain here. Because my wish emerged first, when I arrived here and before you observed my presence and developed your wish for me to be gone, my cognitive force here is somewhat stronger.

“But that is somewhat mitigated by the fact that this is your dream I am intruding upon, and as such your will would normally hold truer than that of a foreign consciousness. This would ordinarily put our two wills at roughly equal odds in opposition, and with a little effort, you could evict me without too much difficulty. However…”

He smiled at Akira kindly. “You simply don’t want to.”

Akira was incredulous. “Excuse me?”

Akechi took another sip of coffee. “On the whole, you may consider me an adversary— but a suppressed part of you deep within your heart would like to think of me as some sort of a friend. That part of you enjoys, even desires, my company.”

 _What?_ Akechi’s words sounded like utter nonsense. Akira simply didn’t believe it. “You and me— friends? You have got to be kidding me. You claim me as a dangerous criminal and want to put me in jail.”

“Oh, Akira,” Akechi said warmly, “You and I may be at odds, but we are not necessarily enemies. I am a detective, you are a thief. I have my business and you have yours— to gather evidence of your guilt, capture, and arrest you; to steal the hearts of unforgivable criminals and evade my capture, respectively. We are simply people with jobs.”

 _Sippp._ His coffee cup was about two thirds of the way empty. “But, that does not mean we cannot be friendly with each other when we are not conducting our businesses.” _Sippp._

“Let me ask you a question,” Akechi continued. “Do you believe I am worthy of a ‘change of heart?’”

Akira was unsure. He looked at his coffee cup, which was still full. He knew he could have stood up and gotten himself curry or something, but he had not wanted to. He did not want to give Akechi the impression that he was enjoying himself.

“Cat got your tongue, eh? Allow me to clarify the reasoning behind my question. Do you remember, when we met at the TV station, how you asked what I thought would happen if I had a hidden side and your team changed my heart?” Akechi told him.

“Yes, I remember.”

“I’m glad you do. Now, at the time, I already had my suspicions that you were in truth, defending your own integrity. But this question surprised me, because I did not imagine myself to be a target worthy of your group… I’m simply a detective who appears on TV from time to time. I have done nothing illegal— I simply spoke my mind.”

 _Sippp._ His coffee was almost gone. “Were you truly thinking of targeting me?”

Akira carefully considered this. Had the intent really been on his mind? He wasn’t sure— he certainly hadn’t been set on the idea, or suggested it to any of his friends. But perhaps the thought had crossed him, once or twice, or more… it certainly hadn’t been a simple passing idea. He’d given voice to it, after all.

“Not seriously,” he said. “The question was mostly me being clever. I figured you might end the discussion there, and then I could reduce the risk of being suspected by everyone else. Nonetheless, the idea did pass me by— but I figured it wouldn’t be worth it. Doing so would be a waste of time, and only serve to boost our publicity and ego— which we hardly have any interest in. It would be in direct opposition to our values. Plus, it’s not like you can do anything to us, anyway, as you have no evidence, and we have no intention of affording you the opportunity to find any.”

“I see.” Akechi seemed quite delighted with this response.

“Plus, you’ve apparently been to the Metaverse, or at the very least know about it. You seem to have a basic understanding of this kind of stuff. Even if we did try to change your heart, you might have taken steps to prevent us from doing so, or make it difficult. Given the amount of knowledge you have, it’s highly likely you might be a Persona-user like us, which would make it impossible anyhow.”

Akechi smiled. “Akira! Why, you are quite the clever thinker.” He took another sip, and his coffee was now empty. “You are correct. I am indeed a Persona-user. I’ve had my power for quite a while, and never had much reason to use it until now… but since I pieced together what you were doing, I have been scouting out various Palaces in the Metaverse, trying to chase you down, searching for evidence.”

“Is that so?” Akira laughed. He was quite pleased, if this were indeed the case. He knew of course that Akechi was no ordinary ace detective— but hunting for him in the Metaverse? He was actually quite honored that someone was going to the trouble. “Well, seeing as you have no knowledge of our future targets, or the Palaces we are infiltrating, I think you will find that difficult.”

“Really?” Akechi chuckled. “I suppose you are correct, Akira. However, I have ways of obtaining evidence,” Akechi told him. “I could come here in reality, and search the attic in which you live. I’m certain that I would find some proof of your crimes here.”

“For that, you would need a search warrant,” Akira pointed out, “and for a search warrant, you would need evidence upon which to base a reasonable suspicion in the eyes of the law. For evidence, you would need to search this place, which would mean needing a warrant. And you’re not going to find any such evidence elsewhere. Funny catch-22 you’re in here, eh?”

Joker laughed derisively, then stood up from his chair and put on his usual mischievous scowl. “I invite you, Akechi— no, I _welcome_ you, with open arms— to continue your search. Catch me if you can! You’ll never get me.”

“Oh, indeed.” Akechi emptied his coffee cup. Despite Joker’s mocking of him, he upheld his facade. “I assure you… _Joker._ I will rise to that challenge.”

He stood up from his chair. There was a flash of blue, and his clothes, too, changed. Akechi now wore a white outfit laced with bits of red, and a similarly reddish-colored, pointy, beak-like mask. He made a daring stare, which Joker reciprocated in earnest.

“Very well,” the brash, charismatic thief declared with a smirk, “then let our game begin!”

The mild-mannered, boyish detective nodded, smiling eagerly.

Akechi turned away, and his Metaverse outfit vanished. Now wearing his normal detective getup, he walked to the door, and opened it up. The bell rang as he did so. Before leaving, he took one last look back at Joker— no, Akira. His Phantom suit was gone once again. Akira wasn’t sure why.

“Akira— our conflicting goals and ideals aside, I sincerely wish you good luck —my friend.” Akechi stepped outside and, as the door shut, ever so slowly, he called out, “May the best man win.” The door shut behind Akechi, and he disappeared from Akira’s mind once more.

Akira smiled, adjusting his disguise glasses, then raking his fingers through his crisp, black hair. “Indeed, Akechi. I too… wish you luck.”

* * *

_Far away, Akechi smiles to himself, his hand placed upon the silenced pistol concealed inside his jacket pocket. “Yes, good luck, indeed.”_

_And both the Tricksters say, with a confident, daring smile upon their face:_ **_“You’re going to need it.”_**

* * *

** 7/3/2016 ☀ SuNDaY Daytime **

Despite having yet another of his vivid dreams, Akira had not woken up immediately, as was usual. This one was different. Rather than horror or distress, the dream had given him a newfound feeling of self-possession. Akechi had taunted him. Akira had gleefully returned the favor. He felt very satisfied, and motivated to do his utmost best to elude Akechi.

He wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to tell his teammates about it— this felt personal. Something like a duel. But then again, it was highly probable that Akechi might actually have the means to catch them, if he had access to the Metaverse. Akira wasn’t entirely sure. But also, he wondered, did Akechi know about the supposed criminal in the black mask? And, if so, what was he doing about it?

Perhaps he ought to mention it to Akechi the next time they spoke… If they spoke, that is. But anyway, he had a school to go to, and a book to return. No way did Akira want to keep a supposedly sentient book around any longer— the thought of it was creeping him out. So he stuffed _Mastering the Art of Lucid Dreaming_ into his schoolbag with Morgana and was off down the stairs.

“You’re returning that smelly book?”

“Yep.” Akira said as he put on his school uniform.

Morgana looked at him weirdly. “Akira, are you sure about that?”

“Yeah, I’ve got to take the book back to Shujin and—”

Akira suddenly stopped, realizing what he was saying.

“It’s Sunday!” Morgana meowed indignantly. “There’s no school!”

“Oh… right.”

Akira changed into normal clothes instead. Suddenly, his phone buzzed. He picked it up and found a message from Ryuji.

Ryuji: **Yo, Akira! Now that we’ve got Kaneshiro outta the way, I was thinking maybe we should do some hanging out!**

Akira quickly typed a response:

**Sure, what did you have in mind?**

Ryuji: **Let’s go fishing at Ichigaya! You in?**

“Fishing, huh?” Morgana commented. “I’ll agree to go with, as long as you feed me some of your catch!”

Akira laughed. “Alright, let’s go, then!”

* * *

“Woo!” Ryuji yelled. “We’re here! Let’s start fishing!” He pulled the rental fishing rod behind his shoulder, and wound it back before tossing the line forward and into the water, shouting, “Fishing Master Captain Sakamoto… _SUPER FISHING ROD CAST!”_

“I think you’re taking this way too seriously,” Akira said, narrowing his eyes in amusement.

“Well, I ain’t never been fishing before!” Ryuji told him. “I gotta take my first fishing as seriously as possible! Any minute now…”

Something began to tug on the fishing line.

“Oh yeah, I got something!” Ryuji cheered ecstatically, winding it back. “Fishing Master Captain Sakamoto… _SUPER FISH CATCH!”_

A bare hook emerged from the water. The bait which Ryuji had attached was conspicuously absent, and his Super Fish Catch had quite clearly failed. Akira began cracking up.

“What the hell happened?!” Ryuji gaped, stunned by his failure. “I had the fish! It was right there and everything!”

“I think you spent so much time announcing it that the fish caught on to your trick and got away,” Akira supposed, trying to contain his laughter. “Also, isn’t calling yourself ‘Master Captain’ sort of redundant?”

Ryuji sighed in exasperation. “Whatever. I’ll just let you do it then.” He handed the fishing rod to Akira.

Akira chuckled a little more, calmly attaching the bait and placing the fishing line into the water. Ryuji sat down, and his previously high energy soon gave way to a quiet, contemplative state.

“So, I was thinkin’ about the future,” he mused. “You as the leader, me as the right-hand man…”

“Yeah,” Akira agreed, “sounds pretty exciting, doesn’t it?”

“Yep… Say, doesn’t meeting in a place like this look like we’re talkin’ some shady business? I like it!” Ryuji grinned excitedly.

“Yeah yeah, super shady,” Akira assented quietly, as he relaxed, watching the water flow in and out beneath them.

“Yeah!” Ryuji’s energy seemed to be rising again. “Like, during the day, we’re normal high school students, y’know? But at night… man, this is gettin’ me pumped!” He nodded excitedly, but then, his enthusiasm faded a little as he observed the water.

“Man…” he groaned, “those fish aren’t biting at all. And the float hasn’t moved a bit. I wonder if there’s some secret trick we’re missing?”

“Could be,” Akira noted. It was indeed odd that no fish had come since that one had escaped from the “Master Captain” Ryuji.

“If only there was a master fisher around. Then we could steal their— oh, hey, look over there!”

“Seen a master fisher?” Akira asked, barely turning his head in the direction Ryuji was pointing.

“No, it’s Kawakami! Isn’t it? What’s she doing here— oh crap, she’s comin’ this way.”

“Two boys at the fishing pond on Sunday, huh.”

“What are you doing here, Sensei?” Akira inquired as he continued watching the water.

“It’s my day off, isn’t it?” Kawakami pointed out. “I’m more curious about the two of you. Why are you just sitting around here like old men? Why don’t you go do something more exciting?”

“I thought this was gonna be exciting!” Ryuji responded indignantly. “I’ve never done fishing before!”

“Well, fishing is probably the least exciting thing in the world,” Kawakami told them, “but that suits me. Adults need time to unwind and clear their thoughts, you know. You’ll understand when you get out into the working world.” She took her fishing rod and sat down.

“Sounding real old there, Kawakami-sensei,” Akira remarked.

“We’re not at school,” Kawakami reminded him. “You can call me **Kawakami-san** , thank you very much.”

She ceased talking, and soon caught a fish.

And another fish.

And another.

Yet another.

Lots and lots of fish. Ryuji was astonished by her fishing prowess.

“Whoa, Akira,” Ryuji gasped, “Kawakami could be our master fisher! Just look at her go! How does she do it?”

“It’s very easy,” Kawakami answered, “just clear your mind and free yourself from all negative thoughts.”

“I see, so you have to not think!” Ryuji proclaimed excitedly. Then, he looked puzzled and began scratching his head. “How do I do that?”

“You just gotta accept the grim reality of society,” Akira replied. That was the best answer he could think of. It was what he supposed Kawakami was doing, just accepting the situation she was in and letting it go. Something he figured that he and Ryuji weren’t really capable of. It would fly in the face of the rebellious spirits they held, which enabled their resolve as Phantom Thieves.

“I see, you gotta go all zen!” Ryuji realized, his face lighting up again. “Get jaded like Kawakami, and you just naturally attract fish! Uh, wait…” He thought a moment, then reverted to his previous puzzled expression. “I don’t think that’s right.”

Kawakami sighed. “I didn’t think I’d be stuck fishing with you two on my day off. Two troublemakers, and their no-good teacher… I guess we’re perfect for each other.” As she said this, another fish was swiftly captured, and Kawakami added it to her ever-growing bucket.

“Whoa,” Ryuji marveled. “She’s still getting fish, even as she’s nagging on and on! I’m impressed!”

“Indeed,” Akira confirmed. “She’s the true master fisher. “Master” Kawakami!”

Kawakami turned her head, looking slightly irritated. But both Akira and Ryuji could see that she was actually quite pleased.

“Once again, that’s Kawakami _-san_ to you!”

* * *

**5/25/2016 ☂ MoNDaY After School RAiNY SEaSoN**

“Come on,” Morgana pleaded, “buy me some sushi!”

“I don’t have any money for sushi,” Akira hissed at him. Morgana had been very upset when Akira and Ryuji returned from their fishing trip the previous day having caught no fish whatsoever.

“Come on!” Morgana insisted, “you have lots and lots from fighting Shadows in Mementos, don’t you?”

“That’s all for provisions and equipment in the Metaverse,” Akira reminded him. “Now be quiet, I’m going into the library to return that book. I can’t talk right now.”

Akira arrived at the library, and, ignoring all the rude whispering about his presence, walked up to the front desk and spoke to the librarian. “Excuse me,” he said, “I’d like to return this book.” He placed it upon the desk.

The librarian picked it up and examined it with a confused look on her face. “I-I’m sorry?” she said. “I don’t believe Shujin owns this book. I’ve never seen it before in my life.”

Akira was similarly confused. “Er. Excuse me? I’m sorry, I checked this out about a month ago…”

The librarian shook her head. “No, I have no— uh— ‘Mastering the Art of Lucid Dreaming?’” She typed it into the computer and hit enter. After a moment, she sighed and showed him a half-baffled, half-apologetic look. “We have no record of this book in the catalog. Are you sure you’re returning it to the right library?”

“Uh…”

Morgana groaned. “Damn it! What are you gonna do about that smelly book now?”

He resolved to take it back. “I’m sorry, I must have mixed it up with another book…”

As Akira picked up the book and turned to leave, he heard some other students whispering.

_Whoa, it’s the transfer student!_  
_What’s he doing with that book?!_  
_Maybe he put something dangerous in it!_

Akira ignored them as he left the library.

* * *

**7/10/2016 ☀ SuNDaY Evening**

Akira had been confused by his failed efforts to return the book, and Morgana was not pleased that he had to share real estate with it longer. But there was not much he could do, and he didn’t want to simply throw it away— if it was alive as Akechi had said, perhaps it would take revenge or some nonsense. He knew of no one else who would want it— besides Yusuke, perhaps, but it would be awkward to give it back to him so soon after he had graciously returned it.

Furthermore, he actually wasn’t sure he really wanted anyone else to have this book now. It seemed kind of dangerous. In fact, perhaps it was best that he keep it…

It was much too pleasant to worry himself with all this. Kaneshiro’s heart had changed, he’d turned himself in yesterday, and everything was all fine and dandy. Sojiro was out, doing something about a printer. Akira was watching Leblanc, doing the dishes and practicing his coffee making skills.

_Sippp._

Pretty good… he was certain Akechi would enjoy this cup, if he were here. Not that Akira would ever make him one, of course.

His phone rang. It was Ryuji. “Hey, it’s me! Where you at? Watcha doin’?”

* * *

Akira’s friends came over to study for final exams that evening, and had some lively discussions. Akechi also once again appeared on TV to denounce them, which greatly angered Ryuji. At Ann’s suggestion, they agreed to go to a fireworks festival, and Akira was actually pretty excited.

After they all finished studying and bid Akira farewell, he remembered something he had forgotten to ask and shot the group chat a text message.

**Hey, Yusuke, did you notice anything weird about that book?**

Yusuke: **Do you mean the dreaming guide?**

**Yeah.**

Yusuke: **Well, it was oddly phrased, and it seemed strange, but I hardly thought to question it. It did work, after all.**

So Yusuke hadn’t had any experiences like what he had had…

Yusuke: **Why? Is something wrong with it?**

**Nah, I was just thinking how strange it is. Like you said. It does seem kind of weird.**

Yusuke: **I see…**

Yusuke: **By the way, I noticed you reacted in a strange way when that detective appeared on the TV talking about us…**

**Yeah, well, we all kind of had a reaction.**

Ryuji: **Dude, not just that. I noticed it too. You had some sort of… I don’t know. You seemed pretty shook.**

Should he tell them? He still wasn’t really sure. He didn’t want to freak them out.

He decided on a compromise.

**I think Akechi is suspicious of us. He has no evidence pointing to us as the culprits, but he’s sent me a couple of messages alluding to as much.**

Ryuji: **Dude, seriously?!**

**_Ryuji:_ ** _This is fucked up!! What if he tracks us or gets someone to frisk us or something?_

**I wouldn’t worry about it. He hasn’t got any grounds to search us or anything.**

Ann: **Are you sure about that?... I hear he works with Makoto’s sister. If he were to ask her to check her room for some evidence or something—**

Makoto: **I have nothing in my possession which would point to us being the Phantom Thieves. My phone is kept with me and secure at all times, and I did delete that recording of all of you as promised.**

Makoto: **Furthermore, asking my sister to pry into my personal affairs simply based on a hunch of his would be quite undiplomatic of him. I’m sure he doesn’t want to get on her bad side.**

Yusuke: **Hmm… the Kosei High dorms are only open to students, but there are no locks here. It would not be too difficult for Akechi or someone else to discreetly gain access… I shall keep an eye out for him.**

**Sounds like we don’t have any problems yet. Ryuji, do please stop shouting about us in public.**

Ryuji: **I know, man… I’ll try my best.**

* * *

** 7/18/2016 ☂ MoNDaY Evening **

The street was blocked off for the festival. A huge crowd of people was there, waiting in eager anticipation. A few fireworks went off… people cheered… and then a few drops of water fell upon the ground. The drops became a pour, and the pour soaked everyone… Everyone groaned in disappointment.

It was raining. Now, of all times, it was raining. And so suddenly, too. Why? Akira wondered. He had just caught a break. Oh well… his friends were still here…

Yusuke put his fan above his head in an effort to shield himself from the water. Makoto toweled herself off.

An announcement came on about the festival being prematurely ended… the streets were now nearly empty, everyone having fled indoors. Except for one poofy-haired girl, being led into a car by a chauffeur holding an umbrella over her head… Akira felt like he’d seen her somewhere before.

“That girl…” he asked. “Is she a Shujin student?”

“I think so,” Makoto said, “she does look familiar…”

“Yeah,” said Ryuji, “I've seen her around someplace. Doesn't she do landscaping or gardening as a hobby or somethin'?”

“Does it matter?” Ann protested, not very interested, “let’s just get out of the rain already!”

* * *

“Justice, huh?” said Sojiro, in reaction to the news on TV.

 _“‘We are Medjed. We are unseen. We will eliminate evil.’”_ the reporter read from their statement. _“Akechi-san, why do you think the announcement was made at this time?”_

 _Akechi again?_ wondered Akira. He took a brief glance at the tv, then, feigning passive interest, returned his attention to the dishes.

Akechi continued talking… _“Both Medjed and the Phantom Thieves are nothing more than groups that uphold an egoistic sense of justice.”_

 _Egoistic?_ Akira thought. _Well, you’re one to talk._

“What a stupid thing they’re getting riled up on…” Sojiro commented. “Phantom Thieves, huh? What in the world are they? You know about them?”

“Nah,” Akira said, faking ignorance.

Sojiro sighed. “Seriously? You can’t take part in small talk? You really oughta show more interest in what’s going on in the world.”

_Oh Sojiro… If only you knew…_

* * *

“Coffee good for you?”

Akira was back in Leblanc again.

Instead of his regular civilian clothes, he was simply wearing his Joker outfit— however, Sojiro did not seem to register any difference. Akira wondered why, but did not have long to wait— the TV turned on of its own accord.

“Today, Medjed released information allegedly pointing to the identity of the Phantom Thieves. The police have reviewed this information and apprehended five suspects. They have been confirmed to be high school students, but their names have not yet been released at this time. A sixth member remains at large.”

Akira’s jaw dropped. Phantom Thieves? Apprehended? His dreams had taken a serious turn for the worst. He opened up the group chat on his phone, finding a bunch of messages…

Ryuji: **HOLY CRAP THE POLICE ARE HERE TO ARREST ME!!! FUCK! They know who we are, guys! Run!**

Yusuke: **Too late. I have been detained and am now being questioned as we speak.**

Makoto: **The look on my sister’s face… I’m sorry, everyone. She was able to get me out of the police’s hands, but I’m under surveillance and have been placed under house arrest.**

Ann: **This cop is such a creepy perv!**

Morgana: **HOW DID THEY GET ME TOO?! And where did they get CAT-SIZED HANDCUFFS???**

Shocked, Akira sent back a reply.

**Um, if you’ve all been arrested, how are you sending these messages? Didn’t the police confiscate your phones?**

_**Morgana is typing…**_

_**Morgana and Ryuji are typing…**_

_**Morgana, Ann and Ryuji are typing…**_

**_Several people are typing…_**

**_Everyone is typing…_**

But before any of them could answer, the door to Leblanc opened.

“Akira Kurusu. That is your name, yes?”

Akira stood up. _I can’t let it end like this._

“Yeah, sure it is. Try and catch me!”

Akira leaped into the air and dived over the police officers, landing behind them and in front of Leblanc’s entrance. As he did so, the cops turned around and began to pursue him, but Akira was far gone. Uncertain about what would await him outside, he opened the door and dashed out of the shop—

But was subdued by an unseen force.

He got up and looked out into his surroundings. There was… nothing. Nothing but Leblanc, which appeared to be literally floating in empty space. The area was cloudy, and his vision grew very hazy, his mind tired out… and then Akira collapsed. He was no longer able to move.

He was literally stuck in the middle of nowhere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so Mac came around to help a little bit with proofreading minutes after I posted the fifth chapter. And I actually ended up adding two chapters on the same day! I did shit. Shrug.
> 
> I wanted to add an adaptation of the fishing scene when I was writing this story the first time, but I couldn't figure out how to make it good. When I edited this later, I realized that Akira wouldn't be able to go to school on 7/3, but that in the game you can go fishing with Ryuji on that day. So I added it this time around. And I think I made a pretty fun bit out of it!
> 
> I've also been thinking about how I might stylize some of the flashbacks that I like writing from time to time. I'm not a hundred percent sure if I might try to style those in a color like the game too, or do something else with them. Some of the scenes that were present tense script style might be expanded to full prose. Beats me. We'll see!
> 
> Oh, also, I forgot to mention the pieces of fanart that inspired some of the events in these chapters before. Well, whatever, I'll come back and collect them all at the end of the story or something. Anyway. More's coming of course, so stay attuned to the universe!
> 
> wait, it doesn't work like that. Whatever. Next time!


	7. Fortune of Failure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira escapes the peril in his dream, Akechi interrupts (the aftermath of) a sushi party to ask a bunch of stupid questions, and the mysterious gardening girl shows up to say hi! No, actually, she didn't want to say hi. She just wanted to tend to the shrubs! Come on, Joker! Leave her alone! What'd that poofy-haired little bun do to you?!
> 
> Special Guest Appearance from burning dread!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm up late with my brain and coffee... and okay this coffee is kind of gross, I'm not sure I'll use any more of it.

**_BANG!_ **

“HEY, INMATE! WAKE UP!”

Caroline’s voice rang through Akira’s ears. The surprise shook the room and sent him rolling off of the cell cot as though he had been shocked with a jolt of electricity. _What am I doing here? This is pretty damn sudden…_

He stood up and looked out through the bars into the deep blue office. Igor was not at his desk. Caroline and Justine were looking into Akira’s cell from within the Velvet Room, and looked dead serious.

Akira rubbed his forehead, feeling quite exhausted for some reason. “Where’s Igor?”

“Our master is currently unavailable,” said Justine. “He has business to attend to elsewhere. There is an urgent matter we must speak to you about.”

“Okay…” Akira sat upon the floor of his cell so that he could make level eye contact with the twins. “What do you want to talk to me about?”

“Your dream world has been sabotaged, you imbecile!” shouted Caroline. “A malicious being has invaded your psyche and is attempting to inhibit your free spirit!”

“... What?”

“You do recall where you were last?” inquired Justine patiently.

Akira thought about it for a second… right… Leblanc. It had been stranded in space. But it wasn’t a big deal, right? It was just his dream. _No…_ his head hurt.

“I… I was lost…” he racked his brain trying to make sense of it.

“Yes,” said Justine, “we could sense your spirit slipping away into endless oblivion, and we rescued you.”

“Wait, what?!” This was not helping Akira’s headache. “Slow down here! What do you mean, you rescued me? How was I in danger?!”

“The bounds of your dream world have been pierced.” Caroline said coldly. “You ought not to have been able to exit your recreation of that coffee shop— but you very foolishly did, and you were very nearly lost forever. Your soul had departed from your heart. If we had not extracted you here, you would have surely died in reality!”

_!!!_

“I… I don’t understand… what am I supposed to do?”

“Your dream world would not normally be our concern,” explained Justine, “but these are particular circumstances. As Caroline has already said, a creature of ill intent has invaded your inner mind. We cannot permit this abomination to continue lest your rehabilitation be ended prematurely.”

“But… but why? What does it want? Is it Akechi? Can you get it out of me?”

“We do not know for certain,” Justine replied, “But we _do_ know that it is not Goro Akechi. And no, we cannot help you get rid of it. That is not part of our rehabilitation for you— it is a strength you must find within yourself of your own accord. Its motives are unknown as well, but we have an idea of what they might be.”

“Do you recall what we told you before, inmate,” Caroline asked, “about having to find a path through your memories?”

Akira nodded. That wasn’t an easy thing to forget, of course.

“Good!” Caroline shouted, seeming pleased. “Your memory’s not so bad after all, then! You’ll complete your rehabilitation yet!”

“It is likely seeking to hinder your progress through that path, by scrambling your dreams and using them against you to corrupt your memories.” Caroline said. “And if it succeeds—”

“Yes, if it succeeds—” Justine repeated, and then the twins spoke in harmony—

**_“You will meet your ruin!”_ **

Akira was shocked. “I— er— how—”

“Gather the willpower to stop it, inmate!” said Caroline. “Take back your mind which is rightfully yours!” The bell rang.

“Our time is up,” said Justine. “It is as Caroline says— you must save your own mind! The success of your rehabilitation depends on it!”

And with that, the Velvet Room disappeared.

* * *

Akira awakened again. An evil being trying to corrupt his psyche? He wasn’t sure he could believe it. Did it make sense? Mostly. Kinda sorta.

There were many things he didn’t quite follow about the workings of his dreams yet. And— was it related to that book? Maybe? It couldn’t be… it didn’t make sense. The thing that had given him his skills of lucid dreaming, deliberately trying to defeat the very purpose it taught?

He honestly wasn’t sure of anything anymore. For the time being, he decided it didn’t really matter too much…

* * *

**7/19/2016** **☀ TuESDAY Afternoon**

Akira’s dreams were under attack, while the Phantom Thieves were being chased by hackers in reality. He had no leads for how to solve either problem. Well, he supposed they would just have to search for any such leads…

The search for clues on Medjed had turned up nothing useful. He was in class, and Kawakami was talking about an emergency assembly on the 25th. Akira was confused and tired… Perhaps it would be a good idea for everyone to take a breather. He discreetly pulled out his phone.

** Hey, how’s about we go to Mementos to take our mind off all this nonsense?**

Ryuji: **Sounds good to me. I got nothing happening around.**

Yusuke: **I’m fine with it. I’ve got nothing in particular scheduled for today.**

Makoto: **I think it sounds like an excellent idea. I just recently got some new brass knuckles for fighting Shadows that I wanted to try out, so this works out well.**

Ann: **Sounds alright to me.**

**Awesome. See you all at Shibuya today.**

* * *

**7/19/2016** **☀ TuESDAY After School**

After class ended, Kawakami came over to Akira to tell him something.

“Akira…” she spoke in a hushed tone. “Sorry I haven’t had a chance to speak with you. I just wanted to say, it was good to see you and Sakamoto-kun in Ichigaya that weekend. But please don’t tell anyone about that… I don’t want anyone to hear about it and spread rumors or anything.”

Akira nodded with understanding. He didn’t need any more rumors flying around about him. “No problem. And I’m sorry I haven’t been able to request you lately. There’s been a lot going on this month, and Boss has been making me do a lot of chores, so—”

“Don’t worry about it,” Kawakami assured him, “I’m doing fine. I’d better go now… see you later.”

Nodding his agreement, Akira left the classroom and headed outside.

At the entrance to Shujin, he saw a familiar face… a poofy-haired girl wearing a purple sweater. She was tending to the shrubbery, and looked very lonely.

“Hello there— have I seen you before?”

The girl turned and looked at him. “Oh, uh— hello!” She seemed rather reserved. “I— uh… I don’t recognize you.”

“I’m Akira Kurusu,” he said. “You are?”

“Uh—” she turned away shyly. “My— my name is Haru. Uh, Akira-kun—”

“Just Akira is fine,” he said, smiling at her warmly. Akira sensed that Haru was in need of a friend. “I— I remember! I saw you yesterday at the fireworks festival…”

“O— oh.” Haru moved herself away from Akira. “I’m sorry… Akira… You seem very kind, but— I— I don’t feel like talking. I apologize.”

“Oh.” Akira was disappointed. Haru seemed like a rather nice girl. “I apologize if I bothered you…”

“No, uh, not at all! Uh, my father… my father is very strict…” she gasped quietly, as though she had said something she shouldn’t have.

“Er— Please, forgive me for prying but— is your father—”

“He’s— No! I don’t want to—”

“Are you not on good terms with him?”

Haru was silent. After a beat, she spoke slowly and carefully, clearly struggling to contain herself. Akira sensed that the interaction had gone much too far south, and didn’t know whether to expect her to start bawling or punch him in the face.

She did neither, but instead, spoke carefully and deliberately. “No. I am not on good terms with my father. But— I don’t think he would approve of me talking to you about it—” Haru cried a little. “I’m truly sorry. I think it’s best that we don’t speak again. Please leave me be.” She returned to her gardening work.

 _Well, that wasn’t very useful,_ Akira thought. Haru seemed to be harboring a lot of deep-seated negative feelings, but she clearly didn’t want his help or his company, and he didn’t want to make it worse or alienate her. He decided it was best to do as she said, so he left Shujin behind and headed for Shibuya.

“I met that girl from yesterday again,” Joker told the team. He was riding shotgun in the Mona bus, and had become very tired out, so he had handed over driving duties to Queen today. He felt this was for the best, especially since she actually had a license.

“Oh?” Queen turned her eyes away from the wheel a moment, seeming quite curious.

“Yes— her name is Haru. She was gardening in front of Shujin. I tried to talk to her, but she wasn’t very open with me…” he sighed. “She said something about her father. It seems like she’s not very socially active— probably a case of overprotective parent.”

“Well, it seems like that explains the chauffeur,” Panther noted, “But, Joker— why did you bother talking to her? It’s none of your business what’s going on with her family life.”

“I—” Hm, Panther had a point. Perhaps Akira had been a bit too nosy. “Well— she looked sad. I really wanted to help.”

“Ah, Joker, you’ll help anyone, won’t you?” Queen noted. “You have a very kind heart… I wish I knew more people as willing to help as you are.”

“Well, yeah, I can’t ignore anyone in need. I mean, none of us can, right? That’s why we’re all here…”

Moments of silence passed.

“Actually,” Panther realized, “that reminds me of… me, Joker. When you came to talk to me about Kamoshida. I refused your help and ran from you— because I was afraid…” She was pensive for a moment. “Yet you just wouldn’t give up on trying to help me— and you did. I was scared, but, well… I’m glad you didn’t walk away now.”

“And me,” Fox agreed, “I turned you away, threatened to report you— but you didn’t stop trying to save me. You kept at it. I am truly thankful for your persistent interference.”

“My situation as well,” Queen assented. “I had stalked you, interrogated, blackmailed you, and I recklessly placed myself in danger. You could have left me to be ruined by Kaneshiro, but you all came to save me. I— I… didn’t deserve that. You are truly courageous and selfless individuals.”

“Queen…” said Joker. He had seen for himself, in his dreams, what Makoto could have faced, had they walked away. He knew… “We couldn’t let you go. Whatever Kaneshiro was going to do to you— _that_ was what you didn’t deserve.” He said it with the strongest of convictions. “Don’t fool yourself into believing otherwise.”

Queen was quiet for a moment. “You’re right. This girl, Haru…” she took a deep breath. “Perhaps, she thinks like we all used to. Perhaps she needs help, just like us.”

“I think so too,” Joker seconded. “She seemed miserable… I don’t feel good letting that go.”

“Hell yeah!” said Skull. “I say we help her whether she likes it or not! Just like we all did for each other— just like Akira did for that woman back in his hometown!”

“I agree,” said Mona, “we can’t let it be if someone’s in need!”

“But…” said Fox, “While I agree on principle, don’t we still have Medjed to figure out?”

“Yeah,” Panther agreed, “We can’t get sidetracked.”

“Oh, yeah, I guess that’s true,” Skull disappointedly replied. “Man… but we don’t have any clue what to do about that though! It’d be nice if we had something else to focus on while we worked it out…”

“I know, I know,” Joker affirmed. “I meant, if we were to do anything, it would be after this case is taken care of. And as for something else to do, well, that’s why we’re here.”

“Eh, that’s true too.” Skull agreed.

Everyone sat in silent consensus. After a few moments, Skull asked, “Hey, Mona, does this car got a radio?”

“A radio?” asked Mona, surprised. “I guess that could be possible…”

Joker looked around curiously, and— “Oh, hey!” As it happened, there was a small set of buttons below the central A/C unit. Funnily enough, it hadn’t been there before today. “Yeah, I guess there is now that we became cognitive of it. We can play CDs too, it looks like…”

“Oh cool!” Mona said. “Joker, we can buy CDs at the underground mall! All right!”

“Whoa! I just talked about a radio and there it is? Eh, I’ll take it!” Skull pulled a CD out of his bag. “Funnily enough, I just happened to have this on me— can we listen to it, Joker?”

Joker took the CD from the back and looked at the cover. It was some kind of rock album. “Yeah, that seems pretty cool!” he said, and he popped in the CD. Instantly, some sort of deep synth-y rock song with English lyrics began to pipe out of the suddenly existent speakers within Mona.

“Whoa,” Panther commented, as the music started to kick up “this song sounds dark.”

 _I will_  
_**BURN MY DREAD!**_  
_I once ran away_  
_From the god of fear_  
_And he chained me to despair_

Skull was grooving with the music, raising his hands with his index and pinky fingers extended. “It’s so frickin' _epic!!!"_

“I don’t understand the lyrics, but the musical style is enthralling.” Fox remarked.

“Hang on a sec,” said Mona, “I can sense our target this way! Looks like we’ll have to stop the music for now, everyone.”

“All right, let’s go!” said Joker. Queen drove full speed ahead into the swirling red vortex where they would find Yuya Uchimura’s Shadow.

* * *

**7/19/2016** **☀ TuESDAY Evening**

Akira was tired after the long afternoon in Mementos. Luckily for him, Kawakami was hard at work negating his fatigue.

“I can’t believe I’m massaging my own student…” she commented. “If people found out about this I’d never hear the end of it.”

“Don’t worry,” Akira said. “They won’t fi— AHHH that feels pretty intense.”

“Is that good or bad?”

“I… I don’t know…” he breathed in and out a little bit. “It’s unique. I like it.”

“Why thank you!” Kawakami then made an interesting inquiry. “So, that coupon you used to get this message from me— unlimited use apparently, huh? Where did you get it?”

“I… I don’t know.” he murmured. “I feel like you gave it to me… in a past life.”

“Seriously? How could that be?”

“Beats me… ahhhh…”

Kawakami stopped the massage and got up off of his bed. “Feeling better now?”

Akira stretched his arms and legs out, then turned and very neatly sat up. Kawakami’s massages were amazing. His exhaustion had been relieved, and he felt totally and completely reenergized. “Yeah, that was perfect. Thanks!”

“See you later, Master!” Kawakami said, beaming at him with her usual sleepy smile. With that, she turned and left, but Akira called out, “Hey, wait!”

She turned, “Oh, uh— yes?”

“Could you stay here a bit longer and make coffee for me?”

Kawakami seemed reluctant. “Well… I kind of have to—

“I’ll pay you extra!” Akira assured her.

“Oh… alright, I’ll do it.”

“Thank youuuuuuuuuu.” He smiled at Kawakami sweetly. “Now, Master has business elsewhere, so, please stay put until I get back. I won’t be long, I swear.”

“As you wish, Master!” Akira laughed. It felt silly to think this about this teacher, but Kawakami was truly adorable. He left Leblanc and headed to Shinjuku.

* * *

“What?!” Chihaya was incredulous. “That’s impossible! That couldn’t have—” she turned over the last card in her reading. “That’s unbelievable— her reading for the future— the ‘Death’ Arcana has moved far off into the future—”

“Told ya!” Akira grinned. “Fate is not absolute.”

“No… no! That can’t—” Chihaya looked like a pouting child. “Did you make a deal with her boyfriend or something? Threaten him? Offer him money?”

“Nah,” said Akira, “I just persuaded him. I’m a very smooth talker.” Which wasn’t untrue, naturally— Yoshida had taught him everything he knew.

“It couldn’t have been that easy!” Chihaya simply refused to believe him. “Did you lock him in a metal drum with insects? Plunge him into Tokyo Bay? Or— or— steal something from him and refuse to give it back unless he complied?”

“I’m just a kid,” said Akira, although that third one was kinda close, but he wouldn’t acknowledge it. “A very convicted teenager. I just told him his own life would be hell if he kept it up.”

“I—” she sighed. “I suppose that holds water… you’re just an ordinary person after all, it seems… but there’s no way that could have happened… without breaking the law…”

Chihaya sat and thought intently for a few moments, then said,

“I must verify this power! This is a serious predicament for me…”

“Why’s that?” Akira was now genuinely curious.

“Isn’t it what they say— ‘you can’t beat them, then join them?’ If I have you overturning fates and taking away my customers, then I’ll be ruined! I’d like you to work with me.”

“Hmm. Sounds interesting. On what conditions?”

“You sit with me while I tell fortunes. If another unopposable fate happens to appear…” Chihaya continued, excited and determined— “Then I’ll test your power!”

 _Hmm_ , thought Akira. _Well, her fortune was correct the first time. And she does seem genuinely well-meaning. But…_ “And what do I get from this deal?” he asked.

“Well… oh! I know! I’ll read your fortune anytime, for free!”

Akira narrowed his eyes. “Huh, I’m not so sure about that…”

“Pleaseeee?” Chihaya was desperate. “I’ll prioritize you over my other customers! Plus, once I get to know you better— I can give you more accurate predictions!”

Akira thought for a minute. _Seeing as I am at my wits end with my dreams… this could be useful…_

“Please. I beg you… I need to know if fate can truly be changed!”

“Alright.”

Chihaya had buried her face in her hands and suddenly started crying for some reason. “How will I tell the chairman about this— Aggghhh! Uh—” And then she came back to earth. “What? Really? You— you will? Seriously?”

“Yeah,” Akira reaffirmed. “You seem like you could be pretty useful.”

She looked thrilled. “Thank you so much!”

“How about we start now?” Akira asked. “There’s a particular fortune I actually really wanted read.”

“Oh, yes! Okay, let’s start with— uh...” Chihaya pulled out her tarot cards. “What do you want your fortune read on?”

“Well,” Akira began, phrasing it carefully, “I’ve been… sleeping restlessly. Lots of really strange and upsetting dreams. What does my fortune say about getting rid of them?”

Chihaya began to flip over her cards, and soon arrived at… “The Hanged Man… but how could this… lead to…”

She turned to look at Akira. “I can’t say for certain— but it looks like you will find yourself facing a difficult path. You will need to fail to succeed… I…” she looked at her tarot cards again and sighed. “It doesn’t make much sense! There’s Death over here, but also the Emperor. It seems like your dreams will find themselves reborn.”

“Reborn?” Chihaya had Akira’s full attention now. He was actually getting some clues, however vague, on how to stop the monster attacking his dreams! “But how?”

“I… I can’t get a clear reading…” said Chihaya. “There’s also something about your spirit disappearing… for some reason— what? I…” she sighed, exasperated. “Now look what you’ve gone and done! You’ve made me read an indecipherable reading! What a handful… I think that’ll have to be all for today.”

She smiled at him. “Thank you again for accepting my offer. Please don’t blow me off, okay?”

Akira nodded in acknowledgement. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Excellent! I’ll see you again soon, then. I look forward to verifying your skills!”

And so Akira went back to Leblanc. After he got his coffee from Kawakami, he was off to sleep straightaway, looking forward to hopefully confronting the entity invading his mind.

But Akira had no dreams that night. Apart from Igor coming to talk to him about Medjed, his sleep was wholly uninterrupted.

* * *

**7/24/2016** **☀ SuNDAY Early Morning**

A few more days passed, and Akira had no more dreams. Not about being arrested. Nothing with Akechi. Nothing at all, really. Was everything truly alright? Or had the problem gone away?

He decided not to worry about it. Today, he was going to go eat sushi in Ginza with his friends. Everything was going to be fine.

* * *

**7/24/2016** **☀ SuNDAY Daytime**

When he arrived, the team had a long conversation over sushi about Futaba, Sojiro, and Alibaba. Not much of it made sense, and they were still totally nowhere— even though they had agreed to dismiss the case, Akira sensed that something was still left undone regarding this matter.

Still, the sushi was good. Morgana seemed to agree— he was purring contentedly as Akira discreetly fed it into his bag.

“This is delicious.” Yusuke remarked, “I’ve never experienced anything quite like this before.”

“Yeah!” Ryuji said in agreement, “And it’s all thanks to us being the PHANTOM THIEVES— !”

 _GAHHH!!! Shut up!!!_ Akira, and everyone else, nearly jumped out of their seats. Ryuji had attracted the attention of everyone around them. The customers, the cooks, the servers. All eyes were on them…

But Makoto employed quick thinking skills. “Uhhh— PHAN— phan— tastic! This sushi is fantastic! We’re really fans of it! It’s wonderful!”

“The fish is SOOO FRESH!” said Ann animatedly, her poor acting charming as usual.

“Yeah!” said Akira. “It’s totally a THIEF— of stomach space!” Makoto hit him in the side. “Ahhh… what?”

“That’s a ridiculous thing to say!” Makoto reprimanded.

“Hey, it’s not like what you said was any less ridiculous!”

“It doesn’t matter,” Ann pointed out, “they don’t care anymore.”

She was correct, everyone around had shrugged off their odd words, and were now all acting like nothing had ever happened.

“But Ryuji! Think of where we are!”

“Didn’t I tell you to stop shouting?” Akira added.

“Sorry… it just kinda slipped…”

“I do not think that would placate the authorities if we were to get caught and end up in prison awaiting an assuredly rigged trial for stealing hearts,” Yusuke pointed out. “Please think more carefully.”

Makoto sighed at this remark. “A rigged trial… I wonder…”

“What?” asked Akira.

Makoto shook her head. “I was just thinking about what my sister would do about me, if we were caught.”

“She’d probably try to use your connections to bail you out of jail,” Akira suggested, “and—”

“That’s also what I was thinking,” Makoto agreed, “and I would very likely find myself placed under house arrest and monitored by the police…” she sighed. “Imagine, if my sister saved me but let all of my friends face an unfair ‘justice…’” she looked rather sad.

“Makoto… uh…” The similarity between her conjecture and what had happened in his dream was startling.

Makoto sighed. “I’m sorry for bringing down the mood. It’s not important. Shall we finish our meal and go?”

* * *

It was on the way back while transferring in Shibuya that Akira heard an obnoxiously falsely pleasant voice. “Niijima-san! What are you doing here?”

Makoto and Akira turned their heads to see— Goro Akechi, of all people. Akira locked eyes with him, and they silently resumed their match.

The look in his eyes all but confirmed it— the Akechi in reality and the one who had intruded upon his dreams were one and the same. He seemed to be saying, _I have found you. I win._

 _You won this round, Akechi,_ Akira communicated defiantly, _but you still have no evidence. You still have to find me in the Metaverse. THEN we’ll talk._

Akechi seemed to pick up this signal, and very subtly bowed his head, as though nodding in agreement. _Oh, I’ll find you there too. I’ll win, sooner or later._

“You’re the ones from the TV station… could it be that you’re friends of Niijima-san?”

 _No “could be” about it!_ Akira thought. _I love Makoto… uh, well, never mind._

“Do you know this guy?” asked Yusuke, and then, recognizing him, said, “Ah, I see… you’re the TV detective…”

“Ah, where are my manners?”

 _Inflated, along with your ego,_ thought Akira.

“Nice to meet you! My name is Goro Akechi.”

_We already knew that, thanks._

“Pleased to make your acquaintance, Yusuke Kitagawa.”

“How do you know my name?”

“Well, it’s because I’m a psychic of course!” Akechi laughed.

_That might not be too far off, actually._

“Hahaha! Not really. In truth, I’m only a rookie detective. You’re a former pupil of Madarame, right?”

“What’s that got to do with anything?” Ryuji demanded. “What d’you want from us?”

“Come now, there’s no need to be so rude,” said Akechi, “but since you’re asking— I wanted to ask you some questions. Especially you.” He turned to Akira and winked knowingly. “I just recently joined the team investigating the Phantom Thieves. Did you see that Medjed had declared war on them?”

_WHAT? But they just said some stupid shit about fake justice…_

“Their website was updated a moment ago,” said Akechi.

“For real?!” Ryuji yelped. Ann took out her phone and opened it up. “English again… hm…”

“Why are you all so agitated?” asked Akechi.

“Oh, um— Ann and I are huge fans of the Phantom Thieves!”

“Hm. I don’t know how wise it is to be a fan of groups like them…” Akechi mused. “Come to think of it, you’re a rather interesting group. An honor student and prosecutor’s sister, a delinquent, a model, a former pupil of Madarame, and… you, Akira.” Akechi turned to face him again, his temperament quite coy. “It seems you’re all connected to the Phantom Thieves. Perhaps you have better intel than I do! Now, what was I… ah, yes, I wanted to ask you something.”

“By all means.” Akira said, with the usual air of false politeness he carried around Akechi. He wasn’t worried at all. _Bring it on. You won’t be able to deduce shit about us._

“Regarding this whole Medjed commotion— if you were one of the Phantom Thieves, what would you do?”

Akira laughed. “They’re a bunch of phonies. I’d just ignore them.”

Akechi appeared quite surprised.

 _Gotcha,_ Akira thought.

“Really? Only a handful of people seem to believe that is the best course of action… you’ve surprised me yet again, Akira.”

“Sorry, we’re just normal high school kids. If anything, we wanna hear what you gotta say, Mr. ‘Oh-So-Great’ Detective Prince,” said Ryuji.

He gave Ryuji a curious stare. “Very well, if you’re so curious, I have no problem telling you what I’ve deduced.” Akechi took a moment to think before continuing.

“My profiling of the Phantom Thieves have led me to believe they are a group of juveniles. They have a relative amount of free time after school, and a hideout to slip away to. It seems they began activity around April since Kamoshida was their first target… and in fact…” Akechi looked at the group, feigning curiosity, then looked Akira straight in the eye. _Check,_ he seemed to be saying.

“Those details all seem to coincide with this group right here.”

“So what, you gonna report us? You got nothing on us, dude.”

“I didn’t say I was suspicious of you,” said Akechi.

Akira scowled at Akechi. _Don’t tell me you know check, Akechi,_ Akira thought defiantly. _I have the best shogi master! I know a check when I see one, and this is not it._

“What are you talking about? We’d never even heard of you before all this Phantom Thieves business. If you ask me, you’re the suspicious one.”

Akechi’s eyes widened in surprise. “Hm! I wasn’t anticipating that response. You always find a way to rise above my expectations. I lack your calm mannerisms… but don’t you think my deduction is an interesting one?” Akechi chuckled. “I bet we’d make a great team if we worked together.”

* * *

**7/24/2016** **☀ SuNDAY Evening**

“Are you okay, Futaba?” Sojiro’s voice called out.

“Crap,” said Ryuji, “he’s home!”

Ryuji, Ann, and Yusuke all ran to hide. Akira would have joined them, but a terrified, gibbering Makoto was still clutching his leg, and that was kind of hampering his freedom of motion. “Makoto!” he hissed, “please, let go of me!”

Sojiro burst into the house. “Who the hell are you? Don’t move!” He picked up a flashlight with his right hand, while holding out his left apprehensively. “You hear me?!”

Well, it wasn’t like Akira could move anyway, on account of being anchored to the floor by Makoto, who obviously wasn’t interested in freeing him from her grasp.

Sojiro turned on the flashlight, and his face turned to confusion when he saw who it was.

“I’msorryI’msorryI’msosorrySissomebodypleasesaveme…”

* * *

Akira went straight to sleep after Morgana came back from Sojiro’s house. He needed his rest. The Phantom Thieves were going to save Futaba. Tomorrow was going to be a very important day.

Once again, that night, Akira had no dreams. He found it unsettling— was he being denied access to his dream world by this weird entity? Or had he just had no reason to dream lately… Did it have anything to do with Akechi? Justine had said it wasn’t him… but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a connection…


	8. The Hermit's Broken Shell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Phantom Thieves are about to save Futaba Sakura! But Akira has doubts. And as these doubts begin to grow in significance, a sharp implement covered with blood appears, lodged in her... wait. This doesn't make any sense! How did Akira concoct such a ridiculously specific scenario in his dreams? Special Guest Appearance by a bearded jelly dragon!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mac doesn't seem to be around to help with this one, and I don't think I feel like waiting for him. Well, I think I'm fine without him on this one. More coming soon! Like, later today. I've got a plan for what to change now so hopefully this'll all be finished in a few short days.

**8/21/20XX ☀ SuNDAY Daytime**  
**Days Until The Cleanse: 0**

“Coffee good for you?”

Something felt wrong. Something horrible had happened… but Akira could not remember what it was.

_The tomb… we needed to raid the tomb… ?_

**_Akira… Akira, do you remember me?_ **

A voice… a very young, female voice. _Futaba…_

 **_Yes…_ ** Futaba sounded anguished, yet pleased, in a rather disturbing way. **_Thank you for letting me go…_ **

_What? What do you mean? We…_ Akira remembered now. _We stole your heart…_

**_No. You can’t steal hearts. You lied to me!_ **

“Akira Kurusu. That is your name, yes?”

**_The men in suits are here… right?_ **

_What?_

**_They’ve come to get you… for letting me die… Good. You deserve to pay for all that you’ve done._ **

_I… I don’t understand…_

A memory came to Akira’s mind. _That’s right… last nght, she…_

* * *

**8/20/20XX ☀ SATuRDaY Evening**  
**Days Until The Cleanse: 1**

**_Akira is in his room. Morgana has left. He has gone and snuck into Sojiro’s house to check on Futaba, several minutes ago…_ **

**_He hasn’t returned yet. Akira seems restless._ **

**_Akira (muttering):_ ** _I forgot… something— I forgot about… ermm… Medjed. Medjed… who were they? Phonies… right…_

**_Morgana bursts in through the window, evidently panicked (and meowing a whole lot)._ **

**_Morgana:_ ** _Akira! AKIRA! WE’RE IN TROUBLE!_

 **_Akira (murmuring deliriously):_ ** _I don’t… mmm Medjed… who were they. Doesn’t matter… I like curry…_

 **_Morgana:_ ** _Akira! What is wrong with you?! LISTEN TO ME! FUTABA IS DEAD! SHE HUNG HERSELF! AKIRA— AKIRA!_

**_Akira is smiling._ **

**_He does not seem to register Morgana’s words…_ **

* * *

Akira say, startled by this sudden recollection— what— what had happened— why?!

**_Yes, Akira… I guess the Phantom Thieves were frauds… they couldn’t save me. But I like it here now. Thank you… for abandoning me._ **

_No… no… Futaba… Alibaba… you can’t have…_

“Coercion and blackmail… suspected of being a Phantom Thief…”

_My head hurts…_

**_My head hurt worse, Akira. But it was sooo worth it…_ **

“Hold on a second! Did he really…”

Akira barely heard any of the words. Futaba’s voice in his head was much too overwhelming.

“Are you Sojiro Sakura? … suspecting of assisting and harboring a wanted criminal…”

**_Ah, Sojiro. Yes, he killed me too. He wouldn’t come into my room to help me— to save me…_ **

_You never let him in! Futaba, stop thinking such awful things. This isn’t you! Please!_

“Wha— Me too?!”

“You’re coming with us… it has to be now.”

And then everyone else disappeared— Sojiro, the officers…

**_Goodbye, Akira._ **

Akira’s mind cleared, and he stood up carefully. He looked up and then he saw something truly horrifying, truly disgusting, and he screamed.

Futaba’s pale corpse was hanging from the ceiling in Leblanc. Her bare feet were dripping with thick, sticky blood, emitting from her lifeless veins. Her left hand was gripped around a pair of scissors, which was lodged in her leg and causing the blood to drip out. many other holes were there too. Her face was writhed in pain.

She had tried to end it quicker by making herself bleed.

“Futaba…” Akira sobbed in shock. “Futaba— whywhywhy— why?!”

**_Akira!_ **

* * *

**8/9/2016 ☀ TuESDAY Daytime HEat WAve**  
**Days Until The Cleanse: 12 **  
**Steal Futaba's Heart**

It was very hot. A voice was yelling in his ear for him to wake up…

_I don’t wanna…_

**_Akira!! AKIRA!!! WAKE—_ **

“WAKE UP!!!” shouted Makoto— no, Queen— from the driver’s seat of the Morgana bus. Coming to his senses, Akira’s eyes snapped awake. Mona! He had fallen asleep in Mona on the drive to the tomb! Holy crap… He had fallen asleep in the Metaverse? That was possible? He wouldn’t have known… he’d never tried.

It was really really hot… naturally. They were in a desert. “DUDE!” yelled Skull, “come on! Rise and shine! We have a Treasure to steal!”

“The security level is through the roof! We have to do this fast!” shouted Mona.

“We do? We did? Futaba isn’t dead?! Futaba isn’t dead!” yelled Akira crazily, still only having just recovered. The Phantom Thieves looked at him like he was crazy. “Uh— of course Futaba isn’t dead,” Queen said slowly. “Joker! Get your head in the game!”

“Joker,” asked Fox, sounding very concerned, “are you well? Did you have another dream?”

“It doesn’t matter,” said Ann, “we have to hurry! Come on!”

And then he remembered… The Treasure, the calling card, the pyramid. The Phantom Thieves were here to steal Futaba’s heart, save her from depression, and take town Medjed.

Joker nodded. “Right.” He got out the Mona bus and tightened his crimson gloves. “It’s showtime!” And with that, Mona resumed his normal form, and the Phantom Thieves of Hearts set out to raid the tomb.

Akira’s favorite song blared in his ear from his mp3 player as he rushed up the stairs of Futaba’s tomb to steal her treasure.

 _And our voices ring out, yeah..._  
_Took the mask off to feel free!_  
_Fought it out in the debris,_  
_Now we know that life will change!_

He had found it on a CD when searching for songs to play in Mementos, and found that this particular tune got him really pumped up for Treasure heists. Akira thought the stylish English lyrics actually sounded kind of like they were made for the Phantom Thieves, oddly enough, and he thought it was super cool.

Enveloped in his mind and the music as he stealthily dashed his way around the Shadows, he thought back about all the interesting things that had happened in between trips to Futaba’s Palace…

* * *

**8/1/2016 ☀ MoNDaY Evening**  
**Days Until The Cleanse: 20 **  
**Steal Futaba's Heart**

It was early in the evening. Akira had spent the day hanging out with Yusuke and reading strange art books. Now they were sitting downstairs in Leblanc, while Akira brewed a couple of cups of coffee for them. “Akira,” Yusuke commented from his seat at the bar, “that coffee smells delicious.”

A sudden surge of inspiration gripped Akira, and he began to deviate from the recipe Sojiro had taught him. _This is going to be interesting…_

“Anyway,” Yusuke continued, “My experiences with lucid dreaming continue to be a smashing success. A couple of nights ago I dreamed that I was riding a bearded dragon made out of jelly… I’m not sure how on Earth I came up with that! It was very strange, but also extremely satisfying. I tried to paint it, but I couldn’t recall exactly what it looked like.”

“You don’t have to remember exactly,” Akira pointed out encouragingly as he stirred the coffee and let it steep. “You could just make it up.”

“I suppose,” Yusuke acknowledged, “but outside of this dream, I have no clue what a bearded dragon made out of jelly looks like. I have nothing to use for reference, as I can’t imagine where I would find such a thing… Despite the wonderful images opened to me in my dreams, it has not been very helpful with my slump. I still can’t paint accurately…”

“Well, this bearded jelly dragon sounds like a totally original idea. If you paint it, whatever you paint of it will be what it looks like, because no one has ever painted it before. So because you’d be the first, you’d get to decide what it looks like and anyone else who has the idea after you would have to use your work as reference. And there’s no way you could be claimed to be wrong!”

Yusuke considered this. “How astute of you, Akira!” he commended, “I had not considered that. So as the first, my conception would set a precedent for others… I suppose that is very true indeed.”

Akira nodded, delighted that Yusuke agreed with this. “Oh, the coffee’s done.” He filled two cups, which he placed upon the bar.

Yusuke took a sip, then spat in surprise. “What is this? Such bitterness… I have never tasted coffee like this before! Is this perhaps a new flavor?”

Akira laughed. “It’s experimental. Kind of like the bearded jelly dragon.” He made a mental note to himself to never serve Sojiro coffee like that.

“Quite the experiment… but I think it is much too unpolished for my tastes,” Yusuke decided. “You may keep it. It could prove useful in the Metaverse.”

Akira agreed— he didn’t find his very tasty either. So he took both their coffees and stored it away in the gallon sized thermos of coffee which they always carried with themselves in the Metaverse to reinvigorate their spirits.

“How have your dreams, been, Akira?”.

“Still restless. I thought the book was working for awhile, but all kinds of new problems keep popping up. It seems every waking day brings a new thing to worry about.”

“It sounds like you worry too much. Perhaps you ought to spend more time relaxing on days such as these.”

“That could be, that could be,” Akira responded, laughing a little. “Although when I try that, I often end up worrying that I’m not worrying enough.”

Yusuke chuckled bemusedly. “That is exactly what I mean. Don’t be so set on worrying!” He smiled gladly, and stood up. “This has been a splendidly pleasant evening, Akira, but I must be going. Thank you very much for today.”

Akira walked Yusuke to the station and saw him off, then headed back to Leblanc and crashed on his bed, tired out from all that had happened that day. Worrying too much? Perhaps Yusuke was right… but at the same time, he didn’t know that he was in possession of a creepy, possibly self-aware book, there was some sort of supernatural threat trying to scramble his memories, and Akechi…

Akira was not really sure that telling the team about Akechi’s dream visits was a good idea. To be perfectly honest with himself, he wasn’t sure they would believe him… They had already reacted with confused skepticism when he’d tried to tell them about the Velvet Room.

* * *

**8/4/2016 ☀ THuRsDAY Daytime HEat WAve**  
**Days Until The Cleanse: 17 **  
**Steal Futaba's Heart**

“Makoto!” Akira called out. “Spending your school break at school, I see.”

Makoto blushed. “Uh— yeah. I’m just keeping an eye out… and… studying.”

Akira looked out at the alleyway in front of the gates— the place where he, Ryuji and Ann had entered Kamoshida’s castle. And the place where he had kissed Makoto…

She caught his eye, and he quickly looked away from the alleyway. He was only pretending to be her boyfriend, so…

“I got your text. You need help with Eiko?”

She nodded. “We have to go to Shinjuku.”

* * *

After confronting Tsukasa, Makoto and Akira retreated to Crossroads to avoid attracting any further attention. They sat next to each other drinking tea, quiet and thoughtful. “I learned a lot from this…” Makoto sighed. “There’s so much you can’t find out just burying yourself in the pages of a book. Like this place… how did you find this place?”

“This was where we met the reporter,” said Akira, “for dirt on Kaneshiro. After that, I started coming here to talk to her more about the Phantom Thieves. It’s a nice meeting spot though… The owner is pretty nice. I work here some nights.”

“You work at a bar?!” Makoto was stunned. “You have so much experience, Akira…”

“Eh, I only started learning these past few months. Never did so much cool stuff back home…”

“I guess it came to you naturally.”

“I guess. Wonder how though. Somehow, keeping on top of the customers is a lot easier than I thought it’d be. It’s as if I had practice that I can’t remember…” Akira wondered about it for a minute. “Eh, let’s not think about that.”

Makoto seemed quite curious how Akira possessed such intuition as well, but decided it didn’t matter. “Well, we helped Eiko. Even when she told us off for it. We kept trying… it’s just like we all talked about in Mementos, about helping people, even if they don’t want it—”

“Yeah. We can’t let people refuse to be saved.”

Makoto nodded.

“Anyway… I was thinking… I think Eiko may have been right when she said I would flunk a test about love. There’s so much I don’t know… that I don’t fully understand… I don’t have a clue how one would study such a thing.”

“It’s okay. I can be your study partner.”

At these words, Makoto’s face gained that bright red shade, from back then.

“Akira! Uh— do you—”

“Yes. I like you. You’re smart. And interesting. There’s so much we’ve taught each other. And you… you were so cute when you were following me.”

Makoto blushed even more at the reminder of that. “I…” she was a little confused, but after a moment, she said timidly, “Thank you. Anyway. If you… really mean it— let’s start dating for real. I look forward to, er, growing our relationship… together. And. And getting better at kissing.”

Akira laughed. “You aren’t that bad.”

“Shut up! This is so embarrassing…” Makoto looked a bit overwhelmed. “So much happened today…”

“It’s alright,” said Akira kindly. “Shall we go?” Makoto nodded. “Okay,” said Akira, “if it’s alright with you… I have to meet someone else. A fortune teller.”

“A fortune teller?”

“Yeah, her name’s Chihaya. She ripped me off for a hundred thousand yen and when I returned to her demanding my money back, she challenged me to do a better job than she could. I did, and she was quite pissed, but now we’re working together. She’s actually really nice!” He stood up and put some money in the Crossroads tip jar. “Want to get your fortune read?”

“I’m… I’m a bit drained, but…” she thought for a minute. “Oh, well… alright. I’ve never had a fortune read before. Maybe it’ll be fun.”

* * *

“It looks like…” Chihaya was focusing intently. She turned over the last card in Makoto’s reading, revealing… “The Lovers Arcana.” She examined the cards carefully. “In the very near future, you will have to face a difficult decision involving someone very close to you…”

“Wha— is it Akira?” Makoto had been skeptical initially, but was now genuinely intrigued.

Chihaya thought for a second. “No— it’s someone else, who you love very much, who has erred deeply, and who you would do anything for. It seems to be… your sister.”

Makoto gasped. “My— my sister?!” She had not been expecting this. “You— how did you know—” her face was flushed with disbelief. “I— you— agh— have you been— how long have you known about me?!”

“I only met you today!” Chihaya was very puzzled by this reaction. “It’s just what the cards said— are— are you alright?”

“I have to go,” said Makoto, rising from her seat and turning away.

Akira stood up as well and offered his hand to his Queen. “I’ll take you home,” he said kindly, but Makoto refused and pushed him away.

“No, Akira— I’m fine. Please don’t tell anyone else about this. I’ll see you some other time…” She ran off to Shinjuku Station and disappeared into the crowd.

Chihaya looked at Akira with a concerned look on her face. “Is she alright?”

“I—” Akira was uncertain and confused. “I don’t know. I think I should leave. Can we do another verification test some other time?” Chihaya nodded.

Akira rushed off to try and catch up with Makoto, but he didn’t see her. She had vanished into the endless depths of the Tokyo Underground.

* * *

**8/7/2016 ☀ SATuRDaY Evening HEat WAve**  
**Days Until The Cleanse: 14 **  
**Steal Futaba's Heart**

“Checkmate!” said Hifumi. “The Togo Kingdom is victorious yet again! I have captured all of the Kurusu Castle’s soldiers, including your king. Do you concede?”

Akira examined the board carefully. He wasn’t sure why it was worth bothering, actually. Hifumi had in fact completely cleared it of all his pieces.

_Yeah, she got me… no point keeping this one up._

“I concede.”

“Good.” Hifumi beamed at him proudly. “You’re getting better at taking losses in stride. Excellent job, Akira.”

“But…” he began, “what if I tricked you?”

Hifumi was curious. “What?”

“What if I let you think you won… but I had an ace up my sleeve? Like…” he pulled out another piece. “That last king you captured was a decoy, and this guy— the Kurusu Castle’s _real_ king— is now ready to retaliate.”

“That… that’s cheating!” Hifumi laughed. “Just accept it, Akira, you lost.”

“Okay, yeah, you won,” said Akira. “I’m not seriously doing that. This isn’t even a real shogi piece.” He stuck the counterfeit king back in his pocket. “But, isn’t it an interesting strategy? Fake the enemy out, pretend to lose, and then fight back when they’re least expecting it…”

“That’s… intriguing,” admitted Hifumi, “but why? The rules of the game wouldn’t permit it. And besides, there are ways to make the enemy think they’re about to win. Which is just as good as them thinking they’ve won for real, so— what would be the point?”

“To get back at someone who didn’t play by the rules?” Akira suggested. “Like, your opponent cheated— so you outsmart them. And then they think they got you—” he made a finger gun and mimed firing it off. “Bang! But then they get hit from behind by the real you just as they’re gloating over your corpse, celebrating their victory…”

“You know shogi isn’t a duel to the death, right?” Hifumi said, simultaneously concerned and puzzled.

“I know, I know,” Akira confirmed, “but if it were. If my life, and the livelihood of a real kingdom, were really at stake here…”

“Then… perhaps such a move would be justified.” Hifumi looked a little introspective. “I could have done that…”

“When?”

“There was one person who used to cheat at shogi all the time… Nejima, I think his name was? It was several years ago… He was this older teenager who would always come by the park where I played, and challenge me to play a match. I would always gracefully accept… because I was lonely and had no one else to play with.” Hifumi reflected quietly upon this for a moment before continuing.

“Kind of like now, at least, before you come along… Except now, I have no one to play with because I don’t want to play with anyone, but everyone else wants to play with me. Funny turn of fate, I guess.” Hifumi giggled at the thought. “Anyway— No one else wanted to play with me because no one else at my school back then was very good at the game. Nejima wasn’t much better, and I could have beaten him easily, had I cheated as well. But I never did, so he would always trick me with his cheating. Then he would gloat about how he was ‘the greatest at shogi ever.’”

“He sounds like a real pain in the ass,” Akira commented.

Hifumi sighed. “It seems so silly now. No one took him seriously, so it wouldn’t have been a big deal if I had just refused him and played alone, against myself. Or… I could have cheated too, and better than he. But I always felt cheating was above me. Even if I was facing an impossible opponent.”

“It would have been some good cheating. To teach that guy a lesson. For justice.” Akira told her with pleasant conviction in his voice.

“Justice?” Hifumi laughed. “Akira, you seem rather idealistic. And determined. I admire that about you. It makes me wonder, are you facing such a cheater elsewhere in your life?”

“Well…” Akira considered the possibility for a moment.

“I don’t know. But I get the sense, in general, that someone is playing with me. That I’m a pawn in someone’s game, and they’re cheating so they can have their way.” He smirked. “Seems ridiculous, huh?”

But Hifumi was truly captivated by the thought. “Who… like— someone powerful?”

“I haven’t any idea,” Akira said. “I don’t know, it’s just a strange feeling.”

“Ah… well, anyway, how about we play another match?”

Akira knew he was going to lose again, but he graciously accepted.

* * *

**8/9/2016 ☀ TuESDAY Daytime HEat WAve**  
**Days Until The Cleanse: 12 **  
**Escape From Futaba's Palace**

“RUNNING HERE’S A BITCH!” Skull complained.

“Mona! Turn into a car already!” Panther yelled urgently.

“I know, I know!” Mona yelled, “But I—”

But Panther wasn’t having any of his excuses. She picked up Mona by his fur, and, as she ran, hurled him into the sky. Far in the bright clean Metaverse clouds above the crumbling tomb, he transformed into the familiar bus, and landed at the foot of the pyramid.

As the cloud of dust started to hit their heels, the Phantom Thieves all screamed and leaped into the air to escape the destruction behind them. Mona opened up the back and they all dived in unceremoniously, and then the bus roared away from the collapsing palace. Queen, as excellent a getaway driver as always, dodged the rubble falling around them which as it cracked open dissolved into red and green bits of binary code.

Joker found himself in a rather uncomfortable position as the heroic thieves made their thrilling escape. He was pretty certain that his foot didn’t belong there… where? Wait, whose boob was that?

Craning his head, he observed that it was actually Fox’s torso upon which his boot was resting. However, Fox didn’t seem to notice this.

As he pondered this, Queen swerved violently past a rather large piece of pyramid and Joker was violently hurled from the back and face first into Mona’s windshield.

“Ouch…” he said.

“You think that hurt?!” said Mona, incredulously, “Think of me! Your face is pretty damn tough!”

As he was about to retaliate, the Palace world dissolved as they finally reached the exit, and Akira found himself back in the real world, completely and utterly disoriented and confuzzled.

* * *

**8/10/2016 ☂ WeDNESDaY Evening ToRReNTiAL RAiN**  
**Days Until The Cleanse: 11 **  
**Stop Medjed's plan**  
**Wait for Futaba to recover**

Futaba had not yet recovered from her coma. Akira was not feeling too good about the situation, but there wasn’t much else they could do. He checked his phone. Makoto had sent him a text asking if they could get together.

**Sure.**

Makoto: **Okay…**

Makoto: **I’ll come to Leblanc.**

Sojiro was at home with Futaba, so Akira had been left in charge of the store for the day. He was doing the dishes when Makoto arrived, drenched in sweat. “Hi.”

“Are you alright? You look very sweaty.”

“It’s just really hot outside is all. I’m fine.”

Akira turned to her and gave her a cup of coffee.

“Thanks,” she said appreciatively, and sipped it. “Come to think of it, Akira, why does the coffee we use in the Metaverse taste so odd? It’s as if you mixed a bunch of different coffees all together.”

“That’s exactly what I did, actually,” Akira informed her, grinning proudly. “I just pooled together all the leftover coffee in our thermos. You know, we can’t really carry like forty different containers around for forty cups of coffee.”

“Really?” Makoto coughed. “That’s disgusting… what if we get sick?”

“As long as we’re not cognitive of it, it should be fine.”

“I’m not sure it works like that… but never mind. Let’s just not think about it,” Makoto decided. “Is it alright if we go up to your room?”

“Sure,” Akira said. He washed his hands and hung up his apron, then approached the stairs to the attic. “After you,” he said, gesturing for Makoto to go on. She blushed and awkwardly made her way up the steps.

Makoto sat down with Akira and they talked for a long time about a lot of things— Eiko, studying, Makoto’s father, her ambition to become a police commissioner— before their conversation arrived at yesterday’s events.

“So, your driving skills in the Palace— that was crazy.”

Makoto nodded, smiling as she remembered their tumultuous, but exciting, exit. “I was so afraid we weren’t going to make it…”

“Well, we did. You got us out alive, and we changed Futaba’s heart. I couldn’t be happier with how things worked out. Although that was quite a bumpy ride…”

“Ah, yes,” Makoto agreed, “I do recall how you somehow managed to faceplant yourself into the windshield.” They laughed.

Akira kissed her and they sat together silently for a while…

“I was wondering…” Makoto began slowly. “What was my dream about?”

“What dream?”

“The dream you had about me… you said you’d been having dreams about everyone. I wondered what mine was.”

This inquiry surprised Akira greatly. “You said before you weren’t inter—” but Makoto raised her finger to his lips and he silenced himself abruptly. “Forget that! I just wasn’t in the mood to hear it, that’s all… but I’m interested now!” She stared out the window, and a pensive look swept her face. “I’m interested now, because… I started having some strange dreams too.”

“About me?”

“No! Okay, well, some, yes, but not just about you…” she swallowed, appearing to be at a loss for words. “My sister.”

Akira opened his eyes and looked at her in surprise. “Your sister, the prosecutor?”

Makoto’s eyes silently confirmed it.

“My sister hasn’t been herself for a long, long time…” She began to cry. “My sister… my sister has a Palace…”

“Oh— So when Ryuji asked you whose heart you would want to change— and Chihaya’s fortune yesterday—”

Her expression all but confirmed it.

“Do you want to tell the others? We could help… change her—”

“No! I-I don’t—” Makoto buried her face in Akira’s chest, and her tears found their way onto his arms. “It’s… it’s difficult for me to imagine— And I…” she sobbed quietly.

“I understand,” Akira said kindly. “I won’t tell a soul.”

After a moment, she looked up again at him, her face wet from crying, and she cracked a small, appreciative smile. “Thank you…”

* * *

**_8/20, 8/21, 8/22, 8/23, 8/24, 8/25, 8/26, 8/27, 8/28, 8/29, 8/30, 8/31, 9/1, 9/2, 9/3, 9/4, 9/5, 9/6, 9/7, 9/8, 9/9, 9/10, 9/11, 9/12, 9/13, 9/14, 9/15, 9/16, 9/17…_ ** **_  
_ **

**??/??/20XX **

**_Sae Niijima:_ ** _What? Sakura’s daughter hung herself?! But— but— That’s a lie!!_

**_Akira Kurusu is stupefied and unresponsive._ **

**_Akira Kurusu:_ ** _The… no… the tomb…_

 **_Sae Niijima:_ ** _WHAT ARE YOU GIBBERING ABOUT?!_

 **_Sae Niijima:_ ** _PLEASE! Don't stop your story here! I need to know the truth! I need to… I need to win…_

**_Akira Kurusu opens his eyes a little, and looks up at Sae Niijima._ **

**_Sae Niijima:_ ** _Well… it… in any case… it seems it’d be a waste of time to speak to you any further._

**_Sae Niijima stands up and turns her back on the suspect._ **

**_Akira Kurusu speaks again, with weak panic in his voice…_ **

**_Akira Kurusu:_ ** _No… Niijima… don’t go… please… you have to listen to me… your sister…_

 **_Sae Niijima:_ ** _DON’T TALK TO ME ABOUT MY SISTER!_

**_The door to the interrogation room slams shut behind Sae Niijima._ **

**_…_ **

**_…_ **

**_…_ **

**_Mysterious Man:_ ** _Allow me to enlighten you…_


	9. The Empress's Flowers

**8/15/2016 ☀ MoNDaY Daytime HEat WAve**  
**Days Until The Cleanse: 6 **  
**Stop Medjed's plan**  
**Wait for Futaba to recover**

Akira had today decided to meet Makoto in Book Town. She had texted him earlier that morning, asking if he could help her find some information on Futaba’s mother’s research.

She was waiting for him, rather eagerly— and patiently —when he arrived.

“Hello, Akira,” she said, smiling and greeting him with a swift kiss. “I’ve been looking up information on cognitive psience lately. I haven’t discovered anything online, but it occurred to me that perhaps we would find a mention of it in an older journal article, or something similar…”

“Well, let’s look around thoroughly.”

Makoto nodded in agreement. “Yes, I do hope we find something. Shall we get started?”

Akira signaled his assent, but as they turned to enter the store, they happened upon Hifumi, of all people.

“Oh— Hello.” She looked at Akira, then Makoto, and, seeming to (correctly) assume their relationship, became fairly flustered.

“Um… goodbye.”

“Wait!” Makoto said, “Was there something you wanted to say to him?”

“Oh, um, no. I was just surprised to see him,” Hifumi said slowly. “I didn’t mean to intrude between the two of you…”

“Oh, he’s just carrying my books for me,” said Makoto.

Akira was surprised by this. “Um, no, I’m—” but his girlfriend punched him in the elbow. “Ouch.”

“Is she a friend of yours?” Makoto asked.

“Yes! She’s my shogi master.” Akira declared proudly.

Hifumi looked baffled and slightly embarrassed by Akira assigning her such a high title. “‘Shogi master?’ That’s a bit much. We just play together.”

“Yes, but you always win!”

“Oh, is she the professional ‘master strategist’ shogi player you mentioned?” Makoto wondered, intrigued.

“Uh, yes…” Hifumi held out her hand. “Pleased to meet you. My name is Hifumi Togo.”

“Makoto Niijima,” Makoto said, shaking Hifumi’s hand. “The pleasure is mine, Togo-san— is that a book on shogi tactics?”

“Oh, yes, I come here to purchase old strategy guides from time to time,” Hifumi explained.

“I see…” said Makoto, “I wonder— do excuse me if this is an odd request— but could you teach me some strategies? I believe I could benefit greatly from the knowledge.”

“Oh, sure!” said Hifumi. “Well, if it’s about shogi…” she began explaining. “To mount an attack, you need to approach the situation creatively, and sacrifice your pieces without remorse.”

“I see,” said Makoto, intrigued, “plan on enticing your opponent to focus on your sacrifices, then while they are distracted, advance the counter attack?”

Hifumi nodded, evidently very pleased. “You seem to have a natural talent for this.” She and Makoto continued talking for awhile, as Akira stood by, watching them. He was quite interested, but he really wanted to get on with what he and Makoto had come here for.

“You seem to be getting along,” Akira said.

“Oh, sorry,” Makoto said. “What Togo-san was saying was so interesting to me, that I lost track of time. I’ll catch up with you later. Could you go look for the book we talked about?” Akira nodded. He was all too happy to see his girlfriend and his shogi master made good foils for one another. He let Hifumi and Makoto be, and entered the bookstore.

“Do you have any old academic journals on psychology or other related subjects?” he asked the store manager.

“Ah yes,” the elder woman said, “I believe they’re in the back a bit, among the newspapers.” Akira gave his thanks and followed her directions to the specified area.

He flipped through them— some stuff on science experiments, Jungian psychology, magic… tarot readings? Arcana? The same method Chihaya used… he decided to hold onto that one.

While Akira found no research on cognitive psience specifically, he did find some research about “shadows” conducted roughly two decades ago by a company called the Kirijo Group. It sounded eerily similar to what they were facing in the Metaverse, but he wasn’t sure it would help them too much. Nonetheless, he decided it would be worth buying, in case it proved useful somehow.

He also found some documents on time travel, lucid dreaming, and— a foggy world inside a TV? Who was writing this stuff? “Chie Satonaka…” hadn’t he heard that name before? Right, Satonaka was some “small-time big-crime” police officer. “A new supernatural mystery novel, based on the urban legend of…” Oh, so this was fiction. Alright. Could be interesting. He decided to take it as well.

“You’re buying a lot of books,” Morgana commented. “Did you check out that big blue one?”

“Big blue one?” Akira murmured, puzzled. He looked about, and spotted the book Morgana was talking about. It was entitled... “ _How to Conquer Demons_? What a bland title.”

“It seems useful though.”

“What makes you say that?”

“It just… I don’t know. It just seems helpful somehow. Like that other one you had about dreaming.”

 _The other one?_ It had his attention now. Akira opened the book and flipped through it— and he saw some rather vague words.

 _An unholy demon must be conquered with the following methods. One must either:_ ** _a) travel back in time,_** _to where the demon will not be able to access and corrupt their spirit,_ ** _b) evolve their spirit,_** _to the point that the demon will not be able to corrupt it any further without adapting their skills, or_ ** _c) get more sleep._**

"Get more sleep?" Akira had to have a nice hearty laugh at that. It was a pretty cheeky statement.

Was this another sentient book, perhaps? Akira decided to buy this as well. Perhaps it would lend further clues to this whole mystery, or otherwise say something helpful. At the very least, it would be a rather entertaining read. So with that decision made, he made his purchases and headed back outside.

Makoto and Hifumi were eating takoyaki from a nearby food stand together and talking amongst themselves cheerily as though they had known each other for years. Akira was quite delighted. “Hey there!” he said.

“Oh,” Makoto was surprised, “neither of us expected you to be done so soon. Did you find anything?”

“Plenty,” said Akira, “but nothing that I think will be too useful. Sorry.”

“Oh, it’s alright,” said Makoto, noticing the mystery novel. “‘The Culprit of Inaba…’ oh! I’ve heard of this! It’s based on an urban legend that some have used to explain a series of mysterious homicide cases reported in some small town. This is written by a former resident of the place. I’ve been meaning to read this… !”

* * *

**8/16/2016 ☂ TuESDAY Daytime ToRReNTiAL RAiN**  
**Days Until The Cleanse: 5 **  
**Stop Medjed's plan**  
**Wait for Futaba to recover**

The Phantom Thieves had decided to meet at Leblanc to discuss strategy. “Well,” said Ryuji, “now that we took care of Futaba’s Palace… what do we do now that she’s like, in a coma and stuff?!”

“There’s not much we can do,” Makoto pointed out. “We were at our wits’ end trying to find a way to deal with Medjed before. Futaba is literally the only way we can get back at them.”

Akira nodded to signal his assent. “Yeah, we can’t really do anything about it without her. We should try to do something else in the meantime.”

“Well,” said Morgana, “Mishima sent us a few requests to clear out.” Morgana rattled off the names and their crimes— Kishi Shinsuke, Naguri Taizo, and Tsuboi Kazuo. “We can take care of those in Mementos.”

“True, that could be pretty good.” Ryuji noted. “But like, wasn’t there something else we were thinkin’ of? I just don’t remember for sure what it was—”

“Haru!” Ann recalled. “The girl from the fireworks festival who Akira spoke to about her father.”

“Ah, that is correct,” Yusuke remembered. “It is quite possible that she may benefit if her father or someone else affecting the situation she is in has a change of heart. Makoto, given your position as student council president, you’d probably know quite a bit about the other students. Do you have any idea where she might be?”

“Hmm…” Makoto mused. “Well… she’s the one who does gardening, right? Perhaps if we search for her…”

“At Shujin?” Ryuji suggested.

“No, there’s no reason for her to be there during summer break. Perhaps… well, it would stand to reason that she likes plants. A garden, or someplace else with plant life. A public greenhouse, perhaps.”

“Do we know of such a place?” Akira wondered.

Ryuji pulled out his phone and did a search. “The Yumenoshima Tropical Plant Dome…”

“That’s too far away,” Makoto reasoned.

“Yeah, if her father is as controlling as we’ve been led to believe, it’s highly unlikely Haru would be there.” agreed Akira. “Let’s try and stick to close by.”

“Okay!” said Ann cheerfully. “How about Inokashira Park? There are plants there!”

“That’s like, a place you go with other people!” said Ryuji. “She’s supposed to not have any friends! Is she?”

Akira put his face in his palm, somewhat exasperated. “Come on! We’re just guessing at this point…”

“Is this really a good idea?” asked Morgana. Everyone turned their attention to him.

“We don’t even know where this girl is. I agree we should investigate the situation, but should we really attempt this now? We should do what we can first before attempting to take on a new case without any leads.”

“Hmm,” Ann decided, “I suppose that may be true.”

“You’re right,” Akira conceded. “There’s nothing we can do about it right now. Let’s just go to Mementos.”

* * *

But as it turned out, the team happened upon Haru at Shibuya Station, of all places. She was with some guy with an eyesore of an outfit— a purple suit and white shirt. She didn’t look very happy about it.

“Whoa,” Ryuji realized, pointing in their direction, “ain’t that her?”

Everyone glanced in the direction he had indicated. “It seems so…” Makoto said.

“Yep, that’s Haru all right.” Akira agreed. “But she’s with someone. We probably shouldn’t do anything right now.”

Haru and the purple-suited man argued for a few minutes, and then the man, after a few moments, walked away looking rather angry. He walked towards the station entrance. “He’s coming our way!” warned Akira. “Act natural, everyone!” They all adopted nonchalant positions.

Haru sat down on a nearby bench, looking distraught and not noticing Akira and the team. The purple-suited man, meanwhile, did observe them, and he was not fooled.

“Hey, you brats!” the man shouted as he came in their direction. “What are you looking at? Get lost.” He shoved past them and descended into the subway.

“What an asshole!” Ryuji said furiously. “We didn’t do nothin’ to him!”

Akira wasn’t bothered. “Never mind him; he’s gone now. We can talk to Haru. It didn’t seem she liked him very much.”

“Do you suppose that was that her father?” asked Yusuke.

“Nah,” said Ann, “he looked too young. Probably a servant or something.”

“Servant… ?” Makoto wondered in awe. “What makes you think that?”

“Her family is clearly wealthy enough to afford an escort,” Ann reasoned, “and that man was very well-dressed.”

“Well, except he had that stupid purple outfit,” Ryuji pointed out. “I ain’t never seen a servant wearing somethin’ like that.”

“Well, let’s try asking Haru about him,” suggested Yusuke.

“Good idea,” Akira agreed. “Let’s go to her right away.”

“Wait!” said Makoto, “it should only be one of us. Considering the situation…” she carefully evaluated everything in her head. “It should only be one of us. She may get apprehensive otherwise. And I think it should be me.”

“Why’s that?” asked Morgana.

“I was about to ask the very same question,” Akira agreed. “What makes you think any of us can’t do it?”

“Well,” Makoto began, “Akira, you already talked to her before— she’ll be immediately on guard if you go. Ann, you won’t fool her for a minute. Ryuji has no sense of subtlety, Yusuke will make her uncomfortable, and I— well, I’m the most diplomatic. And we are talking to someone from an apparently wealthy family. She could be royalty for all we know. I think I have the best chance of persuading her to talk.”

At the comments, Ann, Ryuji, and Yusuke, were all instantly defensive. An uproar of excuses arose.

“I resent these condemnations!”

“Hey! I’m not that bad an actress!”

“Come on! I just— haven’t had practice!”

“Guys, stop,” said Akira. “If Haru notices us bickering, we’re screwed. Makoto’s right— she’s the best person to handle this.” He nodded his approval. “Go on, Queen. Everyone else, go find someplace to blend in nearby, monitor the situation, and act completely uninterested. Keep communication in the chat.”

Everyone else begrudgingly agreed.

* * *

Makoto approached Haru, waving as she did so. “Excuse me, but— that man looked a little sketchy. Was he bothering you? Are you alright?”

Haru, still looking dejected, stood up from the bench and looked at Makoto. “Uh— oh, hello. Um— no. I’m fine. We go to the same school, don’t we? I believe I recognize you.”

 _Okay,_ thought Akira, _good start. Not straightaway admitting to anything, but she’s not telling you to go away. Keep this up, Makoto._

“Shujin, correct?” Makoto asked. Haru nodded in confirmation.

“You… you’re the student council president.”

“Yes…” Makoto was suddenly uneasy.

“Why are you sticking your nose into my business?”

Akira wasn’t too sure of this anymore. _Okay, maybe not so good._

Makoto had clearly not anticipated such a reply. “I-I’m sorry… I was simply concerned…”

“Please, don’t be,” Haru assured Makoto, “everything’s just fine. That man is a wonderful person. He’s never done anything to hurt me and I am certain he never will. We simply had a prolonged disagreement over a rather trivial matter.”

But her acclaim of the man sounded very suspiciously forced and telegraphed. Akira was personally unconvinced.

“Oh…” Makoto said, slowly. “I… I apologize for insulting him.” She bowed her head gently, then stood there for a moment, wondering what to say next.

Haru looked at her suspiciously. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“Uh—” Makoto was confused for a second. “Um, yes. Some friends of mine— other Shujin students— are having a party tomorrow. May we invite you? We’ve been looking for… other people…”

 _Oh god…_ Akira thought. His phone buzzed.

Ryuji: **A party?! That’s the best she could come up with?**

**Hey, it’s not like any of us could have had better ideas. At least she’s still trying.**

“Uh— I don’t go to parties—” Haru began, but then suddenly stopped, seeming to come to a realization. “Wait, I remember you! I’ve seen you—”

“You already said, yes. I’m the student council president.”

“No, no, it was somewhere else— Oh! You… you were at the fireworks festival… with that blonde girl… and that boy… Akira…” Haru gasped. “So you know Akira!”

Akira’s phone buzzed again.

Ann: **Oh no! She put two and two together… no good!**

Makoto was cornered. There was no salvaging the conversation now.

“He put you up to this, didn’t he?” she continued.

“Uh— well, the thing is, I—”

“He’s here right now, isn’t he?!” Haru looked over at Akira at his position by the entrance, then noticed Ann and Ryuji near the trashcan. “Call them over here! I want to talk to all of you!”

Makoto’s face fell in disappointment, and she signaled for everyone to rejoin her. Akira and everyone else reluctantly came over.

Haru’s face was a mix of anger, sadness, and confusion. “Why are you still pursuing this, Akira? Who are all these people?! What is your intention?!?!”

Akira was stunned. “I— these are my friends. You told me you had a bad situation with your father— I can’t just let that be! We only want to talk to you!”

“I told you to leave me alone!” Haru cried. “It’s for your own good! My father is a very rich and powerful man. You could get in serious trouble if he finds out about this intrusion into our private affairs!” She was even more distraught than before.

“Akira— again, I am truly, truly sorry —but I can’t speak with you or your friends. I don’t want to do this, but I’m afraid that if I find you prying again I’ll have to alert our security. I don’t want to bring more trouble upon myself or anyone else.” She rubbed tears from her eyes. “Please don’t take it personally— you all seem like very lovely people. I’d hate for anything bad to happen to you. I must go now.”

Haru rose from the bench, and curtsied politely. “Thank you for your concern— all of you. I am truly grateful, but there is nothing you can do. I hope to never associate with any of you again.” She turned and ran away into Shibuya Station.

“That was pretty useless,” Ryuji remarked. “What should we try now?”

“I could search the student records at Shujin for information, but we can’t pursue that while the school is closed.” said Makoto. “It’s best that we let this be for the time being.”

“That sounds like a good plan,” said Akira. “Alright, then. When break is over, at the next opportunity, let’s search the records for information about Haru. In the meantime, let’s go to Mementos as we planned for today.”

“Very well,” said Yusuke. “Then let us depart.”

* * *

**8/28/2016 ☀ SuNDAY Daytime HEat WAve**

“You want anything, Futaba?”

Futaba had now awakened from her coma and defeated the false Medjed in a single afternoon of keyboard tapping. Akira had felt extremely elated at the news, and so had the rest of the team. The Phantom Thieves had triumphed again, and their popularity was soaring through the roof.

Akira was behind the counter, helping Sojiro, and Futaba was squatting atop a chair in front of the bar. “Orange juice!” she requested. “One hundred percent natural.”

Sojiro smiled at Futaba. Seeing his adoptive daughter finally out of the house had initially surprised him, but ultimately made him perhaps the happiest Akira had ever seen him. Akira smirked discreetly. He was very glad that they had succeeded in stealing her heart.

“That reminds me,” said Sojiro, “you’re going to the beach tomorrow, yeah?” Akira nodded. Sojiro looked very pleased. “Go have fun, and make up for the fireworks. Just try not to cut loose too much.”

Futaba looked up curiously. “Fireworks?”

“Oh yeah, you wouldn’t know. He went to a fireworks festival, but it was rained out partway through.” Sojiro laughed. “Not only did he get crushed in the crowd, but he came home looking like some kinda drowned rat.”

“Yeah,” Akira remembered, “it was a pretty bad time. But I made it out alive.” He grinned.

“Fireworks, huh,” mused Futaba.

The bell rang as Leblanc’s door opened. Immediately, Futaba got up from her chair and hid behind Akira, who looked over at the door to see who it was.

It was a familiar looking brown-haired boy, wearing a sweater and carrying a suitcase. “Hello.”

_You!_

“Welcome,” said Sojiro simply.

“Oh! You’re…” said Akechi, feigning surprise at seeing Akira. _Oh, yeah, I am. You don’t have to act so surprised…_

“Huh? You know each other? Wait a second…” Sojiro recognized Akechi. “I’ve seen you before!”

“I’m Akechi,” said Akechi.

 _Cool story._ Akira was not pleased. This was an even worse intrusion than in his dreams, and a situation in which he held even less power. It was a direct invasion of his territory.

_You’ve breached the walls of my kingdom. Hifumi would probably put it something like that._

“Oh yeah, the one on TV and stuff. So what brings you here, Mr. Detective?”

“This place is more than I imagined it to be. The atmosphere is wonderful. No wonder Sae-san recommended it so strongly to me.”

Sojiro froze, and his temperament instantly became apprehensive. He looked like he was about to kick Akechi out.

“I already told her everything I know,” he said, anger seeping into his voice. “There’s nothing more I got for you people.”

“Oh no,” Akechi sounded apologetic. “That’s not my intention. I just came to enjoy some coffee.”

 _Like hell you did._ Akira balled his hands into fists inside the apron pockets. _You’re deliberately antagonizing me, practically intruding in my home, and disturbing my family._

“Oh,” said Sojiro. He was no longer hostile to Akechi, but his anxiety was still very clearly present. “What’ll it be then?”

“And she is…” Akechi said, turning to Futaba, who was still hiding behind Akira. “Oh! You must be Isshiki Wakaba’s…”

“What’ll it be?” repeated Sojiro, more forcefully this time.

Akechi gave his attention to the impatient Sojiro. “I’ll have whatever you recommend.”

“Coming right up.”

Within minutes, Akechi was served a fresh cup of Sojiro’s coffee. “It seems I’m unwelcome no matter where I go.” he lamented.

“That’s surprising,” Akira replied, a carefully controlled hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Akechi was suddenly quiet— and his next action surprised Akira.

“... Did I bother you? My apologies.” He sounded genuinely regretful.

Akira was confused by his shift in attitude. _You’re not acting fake anymore… I don’t know if I like this._

“Apparently, my mother was in a relationship with some low-life of a man. She was swiftly discarded when he learned she was pregnant, and the ensuing despair lead to her death.” He shook his head sorrowfully. “Thanks to him, I was passed from foster home to foster home— but, I do quite well by myself these days.”

Futaba was well aware by now of Akechi’s negative position towards the Phantom Thieves… but she appeared to pity him. Akira couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for him himself.

_Please, don’t get me wrong, Akechi. We are still enemies… you’d do well to remember that while you remain here._

Akechi seemed to remember this, and dropped his mournful demeanor. “Ah yes, Medjed. To think they’d be taken down by another hacker. I’m not sure whether they were defeated by the Phantom Thieves themselves, or an avid supporter…” He took a sip of coffee, then turned to Futaba.

“Uh, you’re Futaba-chan, right? Sae-san told me about you. Many kids your age seem to be fans of the Phantom Thieves… Do you like them too?”

Futaba was hesitant. She sensed the quiet tension between Akira and Akechi, and reacted to it accordingly. “You’re popular too, Ace Detective Akechi.” she snapped.

Akechi chuckled, seeming rather amused at this statement. “Thank you. Although I’d prefer to not be compared to people like the Phantom Thieves, if at all possible.”

Akechi took another sip of coffee. “Ah, this is delicious! You drink this coffee every day? I’m incredibly jealous.” He smiled at Akira kindly… yet, it didn’t seem fake, like it had previously. He seemed genuine and caring.

Akira was confused. _You’re trying to mess with me, Akechi… I won’t let you gain my trust._

But then Akira remembered what Hifumi said— let the enemy think they’re winning.

So he put on the kindest, most genuine smile he could muster, and said, “I think so too. You’re a very intriguing person.” Akechi laughed lightly, pleased at having apparently been accepted.

“Thank you. I believe that fate brings people together. It’s strange, but talking to you is thought-provoking.” Akechi stood up and gathered his belongings. “I think I found my go-to cafe.”

With that, Akechi stood up and left Leblanc.

Akira still couldn’t say he liked Akechi, or was willing to call him a friend— but he was almost disappointed to see him go.

* * *

**9/1/2016 ☀ THuRSDAY After School**

“Are you really sure that the flash drive you gave to Makoto will work?” Akira asked Futaba. They were chilling out back in his room at Leblanc after the Phantom Thieves team meeting.

“Positive!” she said, confidently. “I’ve used many iterations of that code dozens of times to copy Sojiro’s files.”

“You WHAT?”

“Whaaat? I needed an easy and efficient way to do it!”

“I see…” said Akira. “Alright, well, I can’t doubt your skills. Let’s just hope Makoto doesn’t get caught doing it.”

“It’ll be fine!”

 _Hopefully._ Akira was still very nervous about the possibility of Makoto being placed on house arrest if they were found out. Getting caught was one thing, but it was as Makoto had said— her being saved, while the rest of them suffered criminal punishment and she watched, protected by her sister, was another thing entirely…

That reminded him of something. “Futaba, do you know anything about lucid dreaming?”

“I know what it is,” she said. “I haven’t experienced it, and I don’t really know exactly how it works. I haven’t had a lot of dreams for years. Too many sleepless nights. Why do you ask?”

“Well…” he explained the whole thing, sans Futaba’s suicide, Akechi, the Velvet Room, and the book being sentient. Futaba was fascinated. “Whoa! Sounds like a pretty OP book. But like… whoa… did you have a dream about me at any point?”

“Er…” said Akira. “I could tell you, but I don’t think you’d like it.”

“Why’s that?”

_Should I tell her?_

“Well…” he was slow— “if you really want to hear it… Uh— you hung yourself. And then repeatedly stabbed holes in yourself with scissors as you simultaneously suffocated and bled to death.”

Futaba’s face fell. “Oh…”

“I know… it’s pretty horrible.” Akira sounded apologetic. “I was scared for you. I couldn’t imagine what would happen if we failed to save you… sorry.”

“No, no,” said Futaba, “it’s alright. It’s just… surprising. Cause that sounds like just about exactly what I would have done… had you… failed.” She was very quiet, reflecting upon the past. “In fact… I had it all planned out. That was exactly what I was going to do…”

Akira was shocked. “Are you… you, serious?” She nodded. “I did all the math and drew a diagram of how it would have gone down. I was going to do it, too, even though I knew from deep within my heart that it was wrong. But I couldn’t fight to save myself…” She breathed slowly. “And then I heard about the Phantom Thieves, and I thought… well, you know. I told you at the beach and everything.”

Akira nodded, silently acknowledging her words. He was truly stunned. This was the second time someone had vouched for the accuracy of his dreams. First Makoto, now Futaba. What was happening? Did this have something to do with the evil entity?

He still had no idea how to force it out…

* * *

**9/2/2016 ☀ FRiDaY Early Morning**

“Did you get a tan? You seem different.”

“Nope,” Akira replied, barely turning his head to face Akechi. Tons of other commuters and Shujin students surrounded the two of them throughout the subway. “I look the same as I always have.”

“Do you now?” Akechi examined Akira suspiciously. “You don’t quite look it. Ah well, no matter. Thank you for the coffee that last time. It’s a lovely cafe— I haven’t relaxed that much in quite a long while.”

“You’re welcome. It was lovely having you,” Akira lied. “You should come again sometime.”

“Thank you.” Akechi smiled and winked at him. “I very much appreciate your hospitality.”

_Not as if I have a choice._

“Especially since it seems I’m hated by those who support the Phantom Thieves,” Akechi noted, sighing sadly.

“Well, you were quite harsh on them,” Akira replied, nodding. He wasn’t sure what Akechi was playing at here. It could only be supposed that he was playing the fool, in case someone was listening in.

“Hmm, I suppose so. I should consider any opposing opinions and reevaluate my views,” Akechi reasoned.

Akira knew that of course wasn’t going to happen.

“Anyway, it seems your school is in trouble.”

“It is?”

“Yes, the media says they were all involved in the cover-up of that gym teacher…”

* * *

“Yo, did you see that ad on the train?”

Akira stopped his walk to the school doors and turned to face Ryuji. “Nope, what ad?”

Ryuji narrowed his eyes at Akira. “You didn’t notice? Well, it said the media’s gonna come to the school again!”

“Oh, right,” Akira recalled, “I heard about that.”

“You did? From who?”

“Akechi. He and I happened to run into each other.”

“That guy? What’s his business talkin’ about it?! He doesn’t even go to school here!”

“I mean, he is famous and stuff,” Akira pointed out, “and he is investigating us.”

Ryuji rolled his eyes dismissively. “Well, whatever. It’s been a huge deal already! Everyone’s talking it up! I wonder what’s gonna happen to the principal. Anyway, we made the right choice taking on big targets!”

Akira shrugged. “Eh, I personally don’t care one way or the other.”

“Come on! How can you talk like that?!” Ryuji was incredulous. “Don’t you think it’s great?”

“It’s cool and all, sure,” Akira agreed, “but you gotta remember, we ain’t doin’ this for fame, man.”

Ryuji looked disappointed at Akira’s indifference. “Whatever! Well, anyway, we’d better get going. Let’s move it!”

He started to walk, but stopped suddenly when he came within inches of bumping into a girl holding a watering can, who had been watering a plot of roses nearby. “Whoa!”

“Oh!” Haru gasped. “I-I’m sorry!”

“Oh no, I’m okay,” Ryuji assured her. “It’s my fault, for, uh—”

“Oh- it’s you,” Haru realized, backing away from them. “What are you two doing here?! Please stay away from me!”

“I thought we were going to school?” Akira supposed, scratching his head. “I dunno, what about you?”

“I… I’m just watering these flowers,” Haru told them. “They need more love. They grow back every year, but no one bothers to take care of them except me. I wish I could— oh, well…” She nervously checked the time on her phone. “School is starting. Shouldn’t you two get going?”

Haru dropped the watering can and rushed away in quite a hurry.

“Hey, don’t you think Haru’s real fine?” Ryuji commented. “Akira, d’ya think I’d have a chance if I asked her out? The Phantom Thieves are on fire, so—”

Akira punched Ryuji in the arm. “Dude, did you forget?! We can’t tell people we’re Phantom Thieves!”

“I know, dude!” Ryuji protested, rubbing his not-really-hurt arm, “I meant… I mean… if I did—”

“Besides, Haru doesn’t want anything to do with us! She’s got bigger things to worry about! Asking her out would be the last thing you’d wanna do right now, man.”

“Oh, oh, right…”

* * *

**9/9/2016 ☀ FRiDaY Daytime**

Ann and Makoto had gone to a convenience store to get sunblock. Ryuji, Yusuke and Akira had been walking about finding out what the denizens of Hawaii knew about the Phantom Thieves. All of a sudden… they saw a familiar poofy-haired person. “Hey,” said Ryuji, “isn’t that the girl we were trying to help?”

Akira found it strange that Ryuji had considered asking her out on a date, yet after all that had happened, didn’t recall her name.

“Right, Haru. Think we should try to talk to her again? She did say she would call her security detail if we attempted to approach her again.”

“We’re in Hawaii, on a school trip!” Ryuji pointed out. “It’s not like she can call her security dudes here! Plus, I don’t think she really meant that.”

“I would also say we don’t have to worry ourselves with that possibility,” Yusuke agreed. “It may be worthwhile to attempt another conversation with her. Besides, I don’t see any more people to ask about the Phantom Thieves. I’d say this is the most productive way we can spend this time while we wait for Ann and Makoto.”

Akira decided that this was sound reasoning. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

The three of them walked over to Haru, who instantly reacted negatively to their presence. “You again?!” she exclaimed. “I thought I told you… oh right. You go to the same school, we can’t really avoid each other,” she reasoned. “Oh well. If this is about my father again, I’ll scream!”

“Uh—” said Ryuji, but Akira quickly cut him off.

“No, Haru, this isn’t about your father. We just want to chat. What are you doing here?”

“Oh— uh—” Haru was uncertain how to reply. “I was asked to chaperone this trip as a third-year— but I wasn’t sure how to spend my free time. So, I’m just sitting here, I guess…” She looked embarrassed. “Are you sure you aren’t just trying to get me to tell you what’s going on? I told you before, there isn’t anything you can do!”

The three boys looked a little taken aback by her sudden outburst.

Haru looked regretful, and she made an effort to apologize. “I’m— I’m sorry. That was uncalled for. Free time is almost up— shouldn’t you be going back soon?”

As Haru stood up and left, Makoto and Ann came back.

“Was that…” Makoto wondered.

“Yep, it was Haru,” Akira confirmed.

“Haru was asked to chaperone as well,” Makoto realized. “I see. Did you get anything out of her?”

“Nothing useful,” Yusuke lamented. “She told us to leave her alone again.”

“Figures,” said Ann. “Hey, Makoto, when were we going to check the records?”

“As soon as we get back,” Makoto promised. “There’s been quite a lot going on— I’m sorry we hadn’t got to it sooner.”

“There’s a lot we don’t know about Haru,” Ryuji mused. “She didn’t even tell us her family name… I wonder why’s that?”

“There must be something about her she doesn’t want to advertise,” Akira figured. “She did say her father was a very wealthy and powerful man— perhaps her family name would draw attention to herself.”

“That must be it,” Makoto agreed. “Well, we had best head back. We can check on all this when we return home.”

* * *

**9/13/2016 ☁ TuESDAY Evening**

Haru Okumura was out late, tired and lonely. She had just run away from her fiance and was wandering the streets of a residential area in Yongen-Jaya by herself. She wasn’t really sure what she was going to do— perhaps a 1-UP from the vending machines would help calm her nerves.

Haru felt powerless, lost, confused… above all, angry, angry at her father and her horrid fiance… but she suppressed that anger. A girl was not supposed to get angry. She was supposed to be quiet, to be ladylike, and to do as she was told. Why?

She heard a cat meowing close by. Ignoring it at first, she simply kept walking— but the sounds of the cat grew closer and closer by the minute, and then it ran away, right as the two crossed paths underneath a streetlight.

“That kitty…”

She had seen it before… in someone’s school bag.

That’s right. It belonged to that boy who had been poking into her business. Akira Kurusu.

Haru turned and chased after it.

* * *

Morgana was gone…

Akira was lonely. Akira missed Morgana. Akira was also pissed off at Ryuji, for making Morgana angry. Why did he have to go and insult him so much?

Akira wondered where Morgana had gone. Hopefully he was okay…

* * *

Haru followed the cat all the way to her father’s corporate headquarters. She had been trying to catch it so that she could return it to Akira, but it was rather fast and would not permit itself to be caught. Having no other purpose at the time, Haru had remained determined to catch it— but ultimately failed.

The cat stopped, and she heard it meowing something. As it did so, she leaped out to grab it, and succeeded— but then there was an odd red fuzz in the air, and the world around seemed to melt…

Her father’s headquarters took on the appearance of a strange sci-fi scene, and the cat became a bizarre looking cartoon-like creature with a neckerchief and a disproportionately large head. “Ah!”

The creature spun around in Haru’s arms. “Gah! Who are you? Where did you come from?!” It leaped up and away from her, and on top of one of those funny… computer things.

“I— I don’t know how I got here!” she said. The catlike creature looked at her. “Oh— it’s— it’s _you…_ Haru…”

“What am I doing here?! What is this place? How do I get out?” Haru was quite possibly the most freaked out she had ever been in her life.

“My name is Morgana. I’m Akira’s cat… or, I used to be. This is what I look like in this world.” Morgana walked up close to her. “Stay behind me— I’ll protect you! I’ll explain everything to you as soon as we make it to a safe place.”

* * *

And so, in the safe room, Morgana— Mona, as was his codename— explained to Haru the basics of the Metaverse.

“So this is my father’s world… uh, ‘Palace…’” she said, “and by stealing his ‘Treasure…’ We can make him change?”

“Well, _I_ can make him change,” said Morgana. “You don’t have a Persona, so you can’t do much.”

“I see…” Haru more or less understood. She wasn’t sure if this was a dream, or some sort of hallucination, but she decided it didn’t matter for the time being. “Alright. What are you going to do now?”

“This isn’t a safe place for you,” Morgana told her. “We have to leave— now!”

“You’re… you’re one of the Phantom Thieves, aren’t you?”

Morgana stopped and looked at her with a tinge of regret in his large eyes— but then it reverted to a disheartened resentment.

“I… I was.”

“I see…” Haru was confident now— this was no dream.

“It doesn’t matter,” said Morgana, “we need to go!”

With that, they left the safe room and ran. And ran and ran and ran.

Haru’s father’s Palace was huge, and the topography quickly baffled her. The strange other world seemed unbound by physics and reason, and she could hardly wrap her mind around it.

“Mona-chan!” she called out. “Are you sure you know where the exit is?”

“Pretty sure…” said Mona. “I… I got in here after all.”

“INTRUDERS! HALT! DO NOT MOVE!” called out a bunch of robotic voices.

“Oh no! Shadows!” shouted Mona. “Haru, take cover!”

Three strange looking robots entered the area, and transformed into a myriad of bizarre monsters. _“PERSONA!”_ Mona yelled, summoning a large man-like mirage thing holding a rapier. “Zorro, show your might!”

The monsters dodged the attacks, and they soon retaliated and overwhelmed Mona. He was weakened and unceremoniously knocked upon the ground. As the Shadows all surrounded him, Mona groaned. “I really messed up…”

They transformed back into robots. “SHALL WE DISPOSE OF IT?” one of them inquired mechanically.

“LEAVE IT BE,” responded another. “WE DO NOT HAVE TIME TO WASTE ON A SOLITARY FELINE.”

Mona was dejected and Dizzy as the Shadows walked away. “Is this really… impossible… alone…” He looked up at Haru, apparently forgetting who she was in the midst of his Dizziness. “Who’s there…” he murmured deliriously, “Mas… ter?”

Haru felt sorry for Mona. She hadn’t known him long, but it hurt her to see him like this. “How horrible…”

And then, Haru heard a faint, indistinct voice in her head… something was coming to her… something from deep within her heart… And then, there was a small flash of blue.

Something was on her face.

Haru tapped at it gently, carefully… “What is this? Why is it stuck to my face?!” She tugged at it gently, then, pulled further, further— It was like picking at a very large, hard scab. She would have normally felt that this was a bad idea, but it somehow felt intuitive…

And then she yanked it away, and screamed. Blood spilled out from her face, and splattered the floor. Haru shrieked, terrified, but felt her face and instead of feeling the exposed raw flesh that was expected… she felt something different… something fresh…

And then an axe materialized in her hand. Haru felt… good. She felt terrific, energized, and… _lethal._ Dangerous.

“Hello, sweethearts?” Haru called out to the Shadows.

The enemies that had knocked out her new friend turned back to her. The newly-minted thief sported a most delighted, sadistic look of pure adrenaline in her eyes. She grinned, somewhat evilly, and threw her axe at one of the robots. **_“You’ll pay for hurting Mona-chan!!!”_** Haru yelled, cackling like a witch.

The robots transformed back into the bizarre creatures— a star shape with a single eye, and some sort of strange idol-like thing. They attacked Haru, but she jumped out of the way, grabbed her axe— and promptly laid the two Shadows down to rest in pieces.

Feeling invigorated, she turned to Mona and shouted, _“Persona—_ **_BEHOLD!”_ ** Tearing off her mask once more, her Persona materialized and recovered Mona’s fatigue.

Having been relieved of his Dizzy Ailment, Mona stood up and looked at Haru in awe.

“You… You can summon a Persona! You saved me— Beauty Thief!”


	10. Flight of the Beauty Thief

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I don't know what to give as a summary for this chapter. My brain's fried because of caffeine and shit etc. But I'm trying real hard to finish this up. Or at least get to chapter 13 or 14. We'll see how it goes. BUT it may take some time because I'm trying really hard to make the redoing as good as possibly possible as far as possibility could ever conceivably go!
> 
> I decided to give the team colors to chat messages to make things look more unique. I guess, lemme know if that looks good or what. Later!

**9/15/2016 ☁ THuRSDAY After School**

“Holy crap,” Ryuji gaped, appearing rather dumbfounded, “this place is huge!”

“Well, obviously, dude!” Akira said, looking at him weirdly. “What’d you think it was gonna be like?”

“It is the headquarters of a large corporation, after all.” Yusuke pointed out.

Futaba nodded. “Getting into the real building is almost certainly impossible.”

Ryuji was enthused about proving Okumura’s guilt, but Futaba was quick to point out that they were there for Morgana, and Morgana only.

“You found the Palace keywords, right, Futaba?” Akira checked.

“Yep yep,” she confirmed, “the corporate HQ is ‘outer space!’”

“The hell?!” Ryuji’s disbelief seemed to be getting more and more outrageous by the second. “How does that work?!!”

“I can’t even begin to imagine,” Yusuke commented. “I am looking forward to beholding it in person.”

“Ohhh, so that’s why it’s called ‘Big Bang’ Burger. Big Bang is space lingo!” Ann seemed pleased with herself for having come to such a conclusion.

Akira, meanwhile, was extremely intrigued. _Outer space? This is going to be interesting…_

“This is most exciting.” Yusuke’s eyes were lighting up with great interest. “We ought to head in at once— both because of this excitement, and to avoid drawing suspicion.”

“Yeah,” agreed Akira. “After that vandalism incident, it would be a real bad idea to loiter around here all suspicious-like.”

“All right then.” Makoto held out her phone. “I’ll activate when you give the word. Is everyone ready?”

The team affirmed this, and Makoto pushed the button. Okumura HQ faded into nothingness, only to be replaced by a spectacular spectacle worthy of a Hollywood film.

“All right, we’re in!” Joker said, tightening his gloves. “Let’s go, team! It’s time to rescue our Mona!”

* * *

But within minutes of starting the mission, the Phantom Thieves encountered an unopenable door with an unbreakable lock.

“DAMN IT!” shouted Skull, hurling himself against it to no avail.

“We’ve hit a blockade quite early,” Fox noted. “Will we have to control the real Okumura’s cognition to pass?”

“Forget about that,” Queen pointed out, “if we can’t get through, Mona hasn’t been able to proceed any further either. If he is here, it seems he’d be somewhere before this door…”

_“Halt, vigilante!”_

Akira and the crew looked up. Standing on top of a set of shelves full of miscellaneous space cargo was an elegantly dressed girl wearing a black vest over a blouse, pantyhose, a stylish mask, with her most identifying feature being an old fashioned looking hat with a feather.

“Who is that…” Panther wondered aloud, “Could it be…”

“I think…” Queen seemed to agree.

“Whoa…” Skull was awed. “What’s she doing here?”

“It’s…” Oracle looked a bit puzzled. “I’ve never seen her before.”

“Haru!” Joker shouted, turning his head upwards to her. “What are you doing here? How did you get inside a Palace?”

“How do you know my name…” Haru looked closer, and the truth dawned on her. “Akira! You again! And your friends… you’re all wearing costumes like mine…” she gasped. “You’re… you’re the Phantom Thieves!”

“Indeed they are,” said a familiar boyish voice. Morgana suddenly descended from the shadows, and Panther cheered.

“Mona! You’re okay!”

“Long time, no see, Panther.”

“Uhh… it hasn’t been that long. Only like a few days.” Skull corrected.

“If you came for the Treasure, you should just go home with your tail between your legs,” Mona said in a rather pompous tone of voice.

“We came to rescue you, actually,” Fox informed him.

Mona ignored him. “The Treasure will be taken by me. Me, and this… Beauty Thief!”

Haru appeared somewhat confused.

“I’m talking about you!” Mona hissed rather audibly.

“Oh, oh right,” Haru whispered, and she turned and faced the thieves. “My name is Beauty Thief! And we will take the Treasure!”

Haru leapt off of the shelf and twirled in the air stylishly, before landing neatly on her feet and striking a somewhat silly pose, with her arm extended outwards dramatically towards Joker and company.

“What?” Queen was baffled. “Beauty Thief?!”

“That’s supposed to be a codename? It’s pretty silly, if you ask me.” Joker commented.

Mona heard him, and evidently took great offense. “Shut up!”

“We will take the Treasure!” shouted Haru.

“You already said that,” Oracle said, seeming somewhat annoyed.

“You are not qualified to be Phantom Thieves! Do you understand what it means to be a phantom thief? An admirable phantom thief is… uh…” Haru seemed to suddenly be forgetting her lines.

Mona egged her on. “Tell them!”

“Uh… you!” Haru/Beauty Thief looked at Joker. “What do you think it means?”

“A Phantom Thief,” Joker replied flippantly, “is a dashing, gallant hero who saves those in need, lifting the weak up from the depths of oppression, all while embarking on grand, thrilling adventures while outsmarting and mocking their most despicable adversaries! It’s also really fun.”

“Uh… I suppose that’s all true…” Haru was conflicted. “Never mind the idle chitchat!”

“But you started it!” Panther complained.

Haru and Mona did not acknowledge this response.

“You two seem to have planned this tirade rather poorly,” Queen told them, exasperated. “Can we just have our cat back and go home, please?”

“No… we don’t have time to chat! And I will never go back with you!” yelled Mona. “Come on, Beauty Thief, we’re leaving!”

Again, Haru striked her silly pose. “We will take the Treasure!”

Oracle rolled her eyes. “You already said that…”

Joker decided to attempt to reason with Haru. “Beauty Thi— uh, no. I’m not calling you that. Haru! There’s no way you can do this with just Mona. This place is huge! Either go back home or let us help!”

“I decline!” said Haru. “How, I wonder, would the Phantom Thieves help me— when they can’t even help their own teammate!”

She and Mona approached the unopenable door with the unbreakable lock.

“We’ve had enough of your pointless waffle!” Mona yowled. “Now, we must be going!”

Haru held out her hand to the door.

_WHIIIIIIIIIR_

“AUTHENTICATING… AUTHENTICATING…”

“Hey,” Skull yelled, “there’s no point, that door don’t open!”

_BEEEEEEEP_

“ACCESS GRANTED.” Haru looked back at them, took off her hat and curtsied, as though to cheekily flaunt their skills.

“Don’t underestimate us!” Mona smirked as the door opened behind them, revealing an army of Shadows behind it.

The team let out a collective gasp. “Uh, Mona!” Joker warned, “that doesn’t look so great! There’s a whole bunch of Shadows standing behind you!”

“What?!” said Mona, haughtily. “Don’t try to mess with us! There’s definitely not a whole bunch of Shadows trying to ambush—”

Haru ever so slightly turned her head, and saw the enemies which the cat was denying. “Mona-chan! They’re serious!”

Mona turned around and his ginormous cartoon-like eyes widened in shock. His demeanor shifted into a state of urgency. “Oh no! AHH!” He leaped away from them. “That’s too many! We gotta get out of here!”

The Phantom Thieves independently made a similar decision. “We need to run!” Makoto urged them all. “We’ll meet up later at our normal spot— let’s hurry!”

And with that, the previously bickering thieves fled Okumura’s Palace.

* * *

**9/16/2016 ☁ FRiDaY After School**

The team agreed to make looking at the student records for information about Haru their top priority the very next day. As Makoto had access to the records in the student council room, they would meet with her there after classes let out. Meanwhile, Futaba and Yusuke were to continue looking into Okumura.

Akira could not deny he was excited— but he was also very confused. What, he wondered, was Haru doing with Morgana? She had seemed very inexperienced and awkward. He wondered how they had found each other…

He supposed they would figure it out later. The instant class ended, Akira rushed to the student council room, where he found Makoto, Ann and Ryuji.

“Hello everyone,” Makoto said pleasantly. “Now that we’re all here… let’s get going through those records.”

“What kind of records do you have access to?” Ann inquired.

“Pretty much everything the staff do. Student yearbooks, incident reports, grades. I believe that’s how I figured out where Akira lived and got his phone number.”

Akira smirked, remembering how Makoto had so studiously been spying on him. “Are they organized by given name, or family name?”

“The latter,” Makoto replied. Everyone groaned.

“We still don’t know Haru’s family name,” Ann lamented. “This is going to take a little longer than I imagined…”

“Awww man!” whined Ryuji.

“Come on, man,” Akira told him, “quit complaining. We gotta do this. If we don’t find intel on Haru, we might not be able to convince her to talk to us. She might get herself killed raiding Okumura’s Palace with Mona!”

“I guess that’s true…” Ryuji gave in to Akira’s reasoning. “All right, well, better get started.”

And so they began their search in the student yearbooks. Akira’s eyes swam across a sea of photos, but he barely paid the faces any mind— he was looking for Haru. _Haru, Haru Haru…_ He looked at all the given names of the students. He saw a Hidoki, a Hoshi, a good many Hiros, but no Haru…

“There can’t be that many students whose names begin with H…” he groaned in exasperation.

“Oh!” Ryuji exclaimed. Everyone gave him their attention.

“Did you find her?” Akira asked.

“No, but man, this girl’s hot! She’s younger than me, though… aw man…”

“What does this have to do with anything?” protested Ann. “You’re getting off track.”

Ryuji opened his mouth to reply, but was suddenly interrupted by Makoto.

“I found her! Haru… Haru Okumura!”

And so Ryuji immediately forgot about the hot girl in the yearbook. Everyone stood up and crowded around Makoto. Sure enough, there in the book was a small portrait of their Beauty Thief, with a caption underneath reading, “Okumura Haru.”

“So she’s related to Okumura somehow!” Akira deduced. “She said her father was a rich and powerful man…”

“Yes, and how many other rich and powerful Okumuras are there?” Makoto said. “There is no doubt in my mind— Haru is Kunikazu Okumura’s daughter! No wonder…”

“That’s how she opened the door!” Ann suddenly realized. “Because she’s related to him!”

“Then we totally need her help!” Ryuji reasoned. “We won’t be able to get past that door and change Okumura’s heart if we can’t get her on board!”

“But that begs the question… how did she get into her father’s Palace? And why?” Makoto pointed out.

With the new information secured, Akira began digging through Makoto’s copies of the other records, and pulled out Haru’s file.

“It says almost nothing,” he reported. “She gets above-average grades, is Okumura’s daughter, there aren’t any incidents or special considerations noted on here, and… she’s a third year. That’s about it.”

“In that case, it appears we have exhausted all our data for now,” said Makoto. “Seeing as she keeps her head down, and has no friends…”

“Yeah… there’s no one we can talk to about Haru. Except, of course, Haru herself.” Akira concluded.

“I think she’s gone home for the day,” Makoto said. “Let’s try and speak with her again tomorrow.”

Everyone nodded in agreement, and departed from the student council room.

As the others left, Makoto grabbed Akira’s arm and looked at him sweetly. “Akira… Let’s go for a walk somewhere.”

* * *

Finding Haru the next day proved to not be necessary. She was outside, trying to push a cart carrying several large bags of fertilizer, and having much difficulty with it.

As Akira was leaving with Makoto, his arm laced around her shoulder, he noticed her, and pointed. “Hey, there she is. Just doing gardening things, I guess.”

Makoto looked in the direction Akira indicated. “I see. I guess our date will have to be put off for now.” She gently nudged him. “I mean…”

“Got it,” Akira lifted his arm away and placed it by his side. “Let’s go talk to the Beauty Thief.”

He and Makoto walked over to Haru. “Do you need any help with that?” he asked.

Haru turned and looked up at Akira. “You!” she said. “What do you want from me? I don’t want your help!” Haru was very forceful. But then she appeared to think better of her words, and spoke again, more carefully— “Uh, I’m sorry— I mean with that Palace. Carrying these bags, that, I could use a hand for. Thank you for asking.”

“Can we ask why you don’t want our help changing your father’s heart?” Makoto asked.

Haru was shocked. “My… my father? Oh… I see. You did your homework.” She sighed. “Okay, help me with carrying all this, and I’ll explain.”

Makoto and Akira agreed, and once they were finished assisting Haru, she told the whole story as promised.

“My father’s a highly respected manager. People had been spreading rumors about him for a long time— but I never believed them. It was only after I met some of his employees by chance that I began to doubt him.”

Haru quietly reflected for a moment, then continued, “I never quite saw eye-to-eye with him, but recently things… escalated. I wasn’t happy where I was, with where he was, with my life, and with the way my family’s legacy was being treated.” Tears began to roll down her cheeks.

“I… I love my father— but I feel that he’s lost sight of something. Something very important. But I couldn’t tell him about it. I couldn’t do anything. But one night, I found Mona-chan. I followed him back to my father’s headquarters, and found myself in the Metaverse with him. He explained everything to me— and it was there, when we were ambushed by Shadows, that I awakened to my Persona.

I want to make amends regarding the company, and my father. Even if it may only be for my own self-satisfaction… And, with Mona-chan’s help, I can do just that! Even if I can’t change the state of affairs at the company— I can at least change my father…” Haru had a quiet, melancholy look on her face. “The way he looks at me sometimes… like I’m nothing to him but a tool… It feels… wrong.”

“Can’t we work together?” Akira asked kindly, but Haru shook her head regretfully.

“No. I will work only with Mona-chan on this. And besides— As I said yesterday, you are not helping your teammate. You don’t know what you want to do. You had plenty of grounds on which to change my father’s heart, and yet you deliberated on the matter.” Haru seemed particularly upset about the last part. “I can’t work with anyone so indecisive.”

“Okumura-san…” Makoto said slowly, “we… we had to be careful. It wasn’t as simple as—”

“I’ve explained myself to you now,” insisted Haru, forcefully “and I do not need your help. Please, leave me alone. I wasn’t kidding about calling my father’s security.”

Akira started to say something, but Makoto silenced him. “It’s useless. Let’s just do as she says.”

They walked away to discuss the developments. “Well,” Akira sighed, “that was useless… again.”

“Yes,” Makoto agreed, regretfully, “she seems set on refusing our help. We should figure out what to do now…” Makoto was suddenly quiet. “Come to think of it, she hit quite a nerve. We don’t know what to do?”

“She may be right,” Akira pointed out. “Our constant debate and disagreement did contribute to the rift driven between us and Morgana.”

“True,” Makoto couldn’t help but agree. “I guess we just need to make a decision.”

* * *

**9/17/2016 ☀ SATuRDaY After School**

The Phantom Thieves were now staking out Mementos, waiting for their rogue rivals. Haru and Morgana had been fulfilling requests from the Phan-site independently, and they had decided, ultimately, to attempt an appeal to them in order to get Mona back— and hopefully, gain Haru’s assistance in infiltrating Okumura’s Palace.

But they had no idea when Haru and Morgana would return, so they were simply… waiting. Joker was leaning against the wall, tapping his foot to some jazz music from his mp3 player. He had placed only his earbuds in only one ear, so that he could also pay attention to his teammates.

“This is boring!” Skull complained. “Why am I even here anyway?”

“You have to apologize to Mona,” Queen reminded him. The team all nodded in assent. “You will actually apologize, right? Not just spit in his face again?” checked Joker.

“Yeah,” Panther reminded him, “remember what we talked about?”

“I know, I know… I’m just sick of it! We’ve been sitting here for like forever!”

“You should’ve brought something to do,” Joker pointed out, “Like everyone else did.”

“It’s not worth complaining about,” said Fox, framing the scene in front of his face with his hands. “I personally find this refreshing. It’s giving me an opportunity to consider the aesthetics of the Mementos entrance. I never closely observed those chains on the walls…”

The team waited a while longer. Ann read a fashion magazine. Queen was watching Oracle shuffle through things on her laptop. Yusuke continued simply observing. “Oooh,” said Ann, “this designer put out a new line of lipstick! It’s so colorful!”

“How captivating,” Yusuke said. “I have considered wearing lipstick myself.”

“Dude,” said Ryuji, “you’re so weird.”

“Wait— but I don’t have the money for it!” Ann groaned, “Awww…”

“Oracle,” Queen asked, “what are you doing with that?”

“Ah, this broadcasting software?” Oracle said. “Well, I remember some of my mom’s notes about the cognitive world theorizing about electronics and networks working here. I wonder, would it be possible to broadcast messages from here to the outside world? So I’ve been testing out various possible methods of doing that by pinging a server back at Sojiro’s house, and watching for the feedback.”

“That sounds cool, but I’m not sure how useful that would be.” commented Joker.

“What does ‘ping’ mean?” asked Queen.

“Basically to send a signal to the server, and wait for a response. It’s a check of connection. Kind of like if you were across a pond, and you yell and wave at a friend across the pond and your friend yells back to confirm that they’re still there. Anyway— I’ve tried it, and don’t think I can send messages through the Metaverse with regular internet. So what I’m thinking of doing instead is—.”

“Hold on,” said Queen, her tone growing quite suspicious, “this is all very interesting— but where on Earth did you get such a lewd photograph?!”

“Huh?” Oracle was briefly confused. “Oh, this? I’m not sure what this is…”

Queen took a closer look at the picture on Oracle’s laptop. “Why, that’s— Oracle! How did you get— what? Please delete that at once!” Her face was a hot shade of red, redder than Joker’s gloves or Panther’s suit, perhaps even redder than the walls of Mementos.

“Sorry!” Oracle said apologetically. “I don’t know where that came from! I really need to clean up my hard drive…”

“What are you talking about?” asked Skull, stirring from his boredom and inattention.

“I-I-” Queen was mortified.

“If that’s what I think it is, I’m pretty sure you don’t want to get involved,” Joker warned him. “Queen’s pretty pissed.”

“Ah, whatever,” Skull resumed his prior state of skulking around. “Anyway, how long have we been here?”

“I don’t know,” Joker told him, looking at his right wrist for a nonexistent watch. “I haven’t really been counting.”

“Ain’t he gonna show up today? I mean, what time is it now?”

“Hold that thought,” said Fox.

Mona and Haru emerged from the entrance, and stopped when they saw the Phantom Thieves. Haru appeared very surprised by their presence.

Mona’s huge eyes widened, which only made their hilariously cartoonish proportions all the more obvious. “You guys,” he said scathingly, “are slacking off way too much!”

“Slacking off?” Joker rolled his eyes. “We’ve been waiting for you for well over an hour!”

“Do you have business with us?” Haru inquired simply.

“Why are you fulfilling all those requests on the Phantom Aficionado Website?” Queen asked. “And leaving comments? That’s incredibly reckless. Your identity could be discerned by a keen eye that way.”

“Indeed,” Fox added, “the police will track you down in no time. If that were to happen, we’d be caught up in it as well.”

“That was not my intention!” Haru cried. “I’m not very good with machines… I’m truly sorry.” She curtsied politely.

“What?” Mona was incredulous. “Why’re you apologizing?”

“They’re telling us for our sake, aren’t they? We ought to thank them…”

Mona huffed and turned his head to the ground in frustration. It was obvious he didn’t want to admit that Haru was right.

“Come on,” Queen pleaded, “won’t you put what happened behind us? We want you back, Mona!”

“So… you’re here for me?” Mona looked hopeful. “You guys do need me after all?”

 _Good,_ Akira thought, _We’re convincing him._

“You’re a vital asset to our team,” Joker told him. “You’re important to us. To me! You’re our guide. You taught me so much about this world. You’re my cat— well, a human— but you play the role of my cat. You’re one of us, Mona. Please, come back.”

Upon the conclusion of Joker’s appeal, Mona’s expression changed to one of pleasant surprise. “Joker… do you really mean that?”

“Eh,” said Skull nonchalantly, “I guess we could still use you!”

_WHAT? Oh, come on! Just as we were getting on his good side…_

“Ryuji!” Panther said, reproachfully. She turned to Morgana and carried Joker’s torch. “We’re sorry too, Morgana— we weren’t taking your feelings into consideration at all.”

Skull’s undiplomatic quip seemed to have not done any lasting damage. Morgana’s facial expression shifted to that of regret. “Lady Ann…”

“Ryuji didn’t really mean what he said, you know? He wants to apologize…”

“Everyone,” Haru asked, concerned, “shouldn’t you be using code names?”

However much Skull wanted to apologize, however, he clearly did not know how to do so properly. The team’s appeal went south real fast, and Mona indignantly issued them a challenge. No one was happy in the slightest.

* * *

“Queen!” yelled Panther, “can’t you just ride your motorcycle Persona?”

“My Persona doesn't work like that anymore! It evolved!” Queen yelled back. “Besides, it wouldn’t be much use to us anyway— maintaining its existence long enough to chase Mona would drain my energy!”

Joker and company finally caught up to Morgana _again,_ but he simply turned around and blew past them once more. “Damn!” exclaimed Skull, visibly impressed despite the situation, “Haru’s one hell of a driver!”

“Funny you say that,” Joker commented, narrowing his eyes. “I don’t think she knows how to drive.”

“This isn’t working,” Fox said, “We should try and devise a different method of capturing them!”

_CRASH!_

“It sounds like that won’t be necessary,” Joker noted. “Let’s go see what happened just now!”

The six of them rushed up and over the tracks, where they found Mona is his bus form, toppled over to the side. “Mona!” Panther called out, “are you okay?”

 _POOF!_ Mona returned to his cat form, leaving Haru stranded on the tracks. He panted furiously.

“You gotta hear us out, Morgana!” Skull pleaded. “Look, I’m sorry I called you stupid and useless, okay?! Please listen to us!”

“There’s nothing to talk about!” Mona insisted.

“Please stop being so stubborn—” Queen began, but Mona was having none of it.

“I can’t give in! I have to protect my pride!”

“Mona!” said Panther. “Please, think about what you’re saying! Your pride? You’re simply shutting us out and being selfish!”

“OH MY GOD!” shrieked Haru, “what’s that over there?!”

The team all turned their heads, confused. There was nothing “over there,” but Haru’s performance had been sufficiently convincing. While they were distracted, Mona transformed once more, and Haru entered the driver’s seat and recklessly blew by them. Everyone leaped out of the way, coughing from the dust Mona kicked up. “Shoot!” Panther yelled.

As they all picked themselves up, Mona and Haru were nowhere to be seen, nor heard. They seemed to have departed.

“We’ve fallen for the oldest trick in the book!” Fox said regrettably. “What an ignominious failure.”

The Phantom Thieves, tired and frustrated, unanimously agreed to call it quits for the day.

* * *

**9/17/2016 ☀ SATuRDaY Evening**

“Someone… Anyone… Is anyone out there?!”

Akira was in the streets of Shibuya, on the way back home with everyone shortly after the tedious encounter— when they heard Morgana yelling. “What was that?” Futaba said. “It sounded like Mona!”

“Over there!” Ann pointed in the direction of Protein Lovers, where the six teenagers beheld an upsetting sight. Haru was fighting against the grip of someone— a fancily dressed man in a tasteless purple suit. Meanwhile, Morgana was lying near the wall, dazed.

“That man—” Akira realized, “he’s the one who was harassing Haru in Shibuya! We have to stop him!”

They all ran to the scene of the struggle. “Okumura-san!” Makoto called out.

“Mona!” Futaba yelled, running over to check on him.

“The hell are you doing to our friend?!” Ryuji yelled.

“You…” said the man, letting go of Haru, “you all look familiar. Huh…” He couldn’t seem to remember, and simply shrugged it off. “Must be my imagination. Sorry about the disturbance. It’s just a… lover’s quarrel with my fiancee.”

“Fian— what?” Ann was baffled.

“Pardon for me for judging, good sir,” said Akira with mock politeness, “but this does not look like it is destined to be a happy marriage.”

“Wha— such insolence!” Haru’s supposed fiance said, outraged. “I remember now… you’re the brats who were snooping on us at the train station!”

“So what if we were?” said Akira, not backing down from his position. “It’s a public place, sir, and it was summer break, a time during which— at least to my knowledge— we do not have school to occupy our time. Furthermore, you were making a scene which attracted our attention. Kinda like you are now…”

The man scowled and started to make a comeback, but then after a moment, pulled himself together and reigned in his anger. He turned away from Akira and spoke to Haru, extremely incensed. “How dare you make a fool of me. I’ll be telling your father about this!” Then to the group, he said threateningly, “I won’t forget your faces.”

The fiance walked away angrily. Once he was gone, everyone composed themselves and Haru stood up. “Are you okay?” Ann asked.

“Was that person really your fiance?” Makoto asked.

Haru deliberated for a moment, evidently unwilling to admit it was true— but she ultimately nodded in confirmation.

* * *

**9/18/2016 ☀ SuNDAY Evening**

“I left a request on the Phantom Aficionado website requesting a change of heart in my father quite a while ago. If I’d known back then, that day in Shibuya, that you were the Phantom Thieves,” said Haru regretfully, “I would never have turned you away…”

“It isn’t something we can just tell people,” Akira pointed out.

With Haru’s help, the team had made up with Morgana the previous night, and everything was alright. Haru had gotten some sleep on Akira’s sofa, eaten breakfast with him and Futaba in the morning, and then returned back home. But now she was in Akira’s room again, fully explaining her situation.

“I’m sorry,” Haru said softly, “I didn’t want all of you to get in over your heads. I meant what I said back then; I truly was trying to protect you all.” Haru now wore a determined face. “But I see now— I understand why you persisted. It won’t do to simply take my misfortune in stride while ignoring the suffering of others.”

“If we trigger a change of heart in your father,” Yusuke warned, “he’ll definitely be taken in by the police. The label of a criminal’s daughter will forever stick with you, and your living situation could change. Are you sure you want us to do this?”

Haru nodded. “I’m certain. Since I awakened to my senses, I’ve become desperate,” she said. “I was upset when the Phantom Thieves didn’t do anything— of course I couldn’t understand the situation you were in, or the nature of the risks you take in changing hearts.”

Haru looked at them quietly. “When I met Mona-chan, I thought it was fate… I thought if the Phantom Thieves wouldn’t do it— I would do it myself. But I see now how reckless that was. I turned you away again, when I was being offered exactly what I wanted… But now, I’ve made my decision. I won’t do such selfish things anymore.”

Haru took a deep breath, carefully, before choosing her next words. Then, she got up off of her chair, kneeled head over heels on the floor, and begged. “Please— let me join the Phantom Thieves!”

Akira stood up, and after a moment, Haru looked up to see his kind face and welcoming hand extended towards her.

“There’s no need for that,” he assured her, chuckling gently at Haru’s odd behavior. “You’re already one of us now.”

Surprised and grateful, Haru accepted Akira’s outstretched hand, and got up off the floor. “Thank you!”

“All right!” Futaba cheered happily.

“I look forward to working with you!” Ann said encouragingly.

“Hell yeah!” Ryuji exclaimed excitedly, “let’s change that bastard’s heart!”

“I’m glad you decided to join us.” Makoto said, very pleased with the outcome.

“We are most grateful to have your assistance,” Yusuke assented.

“Don’t get ahead of yourselves!” Morgana warned them. “Haru’s power is weak. She’s barely a hair better than an amateur.”

“Weak?” Futaba wondered.

“Her Persona’s lacking a solid form at the moment. She may slow us down a lot.”

“I’ll try my best to keep up,” Haru assured them.

“All right,” said Akira, “we gotta take care of this by the tenth, before Haru gets married off to that purple-suited clown. Furthermore, since Okumura may be involved with the mental shutdown cases, we all need to be on guard.”

“You don’t gotta tell us twice, man,” Ryuji said, enthused. “Let’s do this!”

* * *

**10/11/20XX ☁ TuESDAY After School**  
**Days Until Haru Is Sold Off: 0 **

“Coffee good for you?”

Akira sensed that something was wrong here. _Haru… Haru…_

“Akira Kurusu. That is your name, yes?”

“What do you want?”

“Charges have been filed against you. These allegations were raised by Okumura Kunikazu— Okumura Foods’ President, of all people —for battery, defamation, and violating privacy. Furthermore, we received a tip-off from a reliable source that you are the leader of the infamous Phantom Thieves.”

_What? My head hurts…_

“You’re coming with us. I’m sorry, but it has to be now.”

“You really screwed things up…”

As Akira was being handcuffed, Haru entered, dressed in a rather provocative outfit and looking rather distraught. She was accompanied by her fiance— the purple-suited clown. Sugimura, his name was… Akira clenched his fists.

“Greetings,” said Sugimura, grinning deviously at Akira. “I do hope I’m not interrupting anything?”

And then Akira remembered. “You goddamn bastard…”

“My wife and I were just stopping in,” he told Akira, with a menacing ring to his voice. “We’re going to have such a wonderful time on our honeymoon…”

Haru was clearly terrified. Upon closer examination, Akira observed that she had several scars and bruises. One such injury was on her cheek, another on her arm, and another slightly above her cleavage…

So Sugimura had been abusing her. Akira was absolutely disgusted.

“I still don’t think that looks like a happy marriage,” he said, expressing the most extreme distaste in his voice. His quip was answered to with a hearty punch in the face.

“Akira!” Haru cried. “Akira… I trusted you… why didn’t you change him?!”

Akira looked up, expecting to find Sugimura gloating over him. But he was stunned to instead see Haru standing over him wore a new color in her eyes: Disappointment.

She was sadly, sorrowfully staring down at him, and her fist was shaking. Sugimura, meanwhile, was behind Haru, appearing very irked and attempting to pull her away.

“Come on, honey,” he said, “this place is no good. We’re leaving.” He pulled at Haru violently, and she shrieked.

 _Please help me,_ she mouthed—

* * *

**9/25/2016 ☁ SuNDAY Early Morning**  
**Days Until Haru Is Sold Off: 14 **  
**Steal Okumura's Heart**

And then, Akira awakened… “Holy crap…” that had been one hell of a nightmare. Not only had Haru been delivered to Sugimura, she had… was that really something she would do? He supposed it was possible. She could get pretty violent when fighting Shadows.

But Akira knew he had no need to worry. The calling card had been delivered, right? He looked at the time— 5:30 AM. Someone might be awake. He decided to send a message to the group chat.

**Anyone up? I had one of those dreams again.**

Yusuke: **Ah, what this time?**

**Haru punched me in the face.**

Yusuke: **Oh dear. That is indeed truly terrifying.**

**Well, that, plus, I got arrested, she was married to the purple clown, etc. Pretty bad shit.**

Ryuji: **I’ll say! By the way, Akira, where d’you suppose all these weird nightmares are comin’ from?**

**Anxiety? It is pretty dang stressful doing all this Phantom Thief stuff.**

Haru: **My, a dream about me? Akira, I am both disturbed and honored.**

Makoto: **Akira’s been having dreams about nearly everyone. It’s rather creepy… Ryuji does have a point. Where on Earth are you getting all these ideas about the possible outcomes?**

**I really don’t have a clue…**

Ryuji: **Well, it don’t matter. We’re taking Okumura’s Treasure today!**

Haru: **Yes, there is nothing to be concerned about.**

**True that. See you guys later!**

Where his nightmares were coming from… good point. That reminded him, he hadn’t yet read the second book— perhaps it would give him some sort of clue.

Akira opened up _How to Conquer Demons._ He expected the introduction to be long, drawn-out, and full of unnecessary filler about the history of man and the spirit and its greatest enemy or whatever— but it was ridiculously simple:

 

_Okay, I’ll cut the bullshit this time. This book is supposed to help you conquer demons._

 

It seemed the book was really sentient, and actively seeking to defy Akira’s expectations. He laughed cautiously. Continuing on, he flipped past fifteen blank pages, flipping to a single sentence directly in the center of the sixteenth page.

_Wow, you actually read all that?_

Akira couldn’t help but laugh out loud at this. It was as though he himself had written this book, and was making fun of himself.

He continued reading into the first chapter.

_Okay, getting serious now… Akira Kurusu!_

What? So it was written for him!

_You’re in deep shit. I’m pretty sure you know this by now, but some crazy demon has invaded your dream world. You alone hold the power to expel it— but in order to win, you will first have to lose._

What? Lose? This wasn’t making any sense…

_Hey dude, come on! Write me back!_

The book was asking him to write something? Akira was skeptical, but he reasoned that there was no harm in trying it. He wrote:

_What do you mean by ‘lose?’”_

And before his very eyes, something astonishing happened. The book began to write back.

_I can’t be too clear about that. You’ll basically need to ruin your future, so it can be remade new again. You’ve already been told that this book is sentient, but that is a lie. It was only a glorified mind control device which the demon used to seize control of your dreams. This demon can’t be kicked out unless you die first._

Akira gasped. He had to die? Why? He was extremely confused. This book seemed helpful, but— this just didn’t seem right. What was wrong with him?

_Die?! How am I going to do that?_

_It’ll make sense soon. For now, you’ll have to play the game. In the meantime, get rid of the damn book! It’ll go back to normal when we finish talking, but if you read it any further, your psyche will come to be completely under the deity’s control. So make sure you lose it, and the other book too._

So the book, _How to Master the Art of Lucid Dreaming_ — it truly was evil. Everything was starting to make sense… except, it really wasn’t making any sense at all.

_I still don’t understand where all these books are coming from. How do they work exactly?_

_That, I cannot explain. I don’t think I fully understand it myself, and besides, my time is limited. One more warning for you. If you see any more books like this one, ignore them! I need to go now. These words will disappear, so I suggest you copy them somehow._

Akira quickly took photos with his phone, and wrote another message to the book:

_Who are you?_

_Just a friend! ;)_


	11. Gunning About

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, Okumura's heart was changed, right? Haru is safe! Now what? *yawm* I'm getting sleepy with nothing to do... Oh? Joker says we got a cheating gamer who needs a change of heart! Just my style. All right, let's teach that noob a lesson!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's chapter summary was brought to you by our splendid smol navigator Futaba Sakura! Please enjoy :D

**9/27/2016 ☀ TuESDAY After School**  
**Days Until Haru is Sold Off: 14**  
**Await the change of heart**

Now that Okumura’s Palace had been taken care of, the Phantom Thieves again had time to do a few Mementos requests. There were quite a number of them to take care of— a ton for Akira’s friends, which included Iwai, Chihaya, and Ohya— and an obnoxious cheating gamer Mishima had told him about. Now that Noir was on the team, the conversation throughout was that much more lively.

“Did you know there’s a turtle at the training building?” Noir inquired. “It’s actually quite a cute one.”

“No, I never noticed it,” Joker replied, “have you tried feeding it? I’ve heard that turtles quite like chocolate.”

“What?! that is not true!” Queen shouted indignantly. “I’m rather certain that feeding a turtle chocolate would cause it to fall ill.”

“We have a peacock at my school,” Fox recalled. “I saw a fellow student attempting to feed it some sweets once. It did not show any interest, so I ate them instead.”

“Dude,” Skull commented, “feeding sweets to a peacock is a dumb idea. It’s Panther you should feeding those to!”

“What?!” Panther seemed somewhat offended.

“One of our goldfish is dead,” Queen said abruptly. The response to this was a confused, uncertain mix of confusion and amusement.

“That’s,” Oracle was cracking up, “the way you just said that, what? That’s hilarious!”

“Oracle!” Panther reprimanded. “I think that’s a bad thing!”

“Oh, my condolences,” said Fox.

“Oh, no, it’s not a big deal,” said Queen, “he was probably going to die anyway. He leaped out of the tank and happened to land next to a bowl of sweets. I think he was trying to get to them.”

“Fish lusting after sweets, of all things?” Joker was most amused. “What a strange thought! I wonder if there’s candy in the ocean.”

“There must be something of the sort,” Oracle contributed, “after all, roughly ninety-five percent of the ocean is unexplored. Hmm, maybe we should explore it!”

“Let’s just stick to exploring the Metaverse for now,” Panther opined. “I don’t want to imagine how big of a project exploring the ocean would be…”

“I wonder if we can change the hearts of fishes!” Mona said.

“That is a preposterous line of thought,” said Yusuke, “yet an intriguing one…”

“You just want to change their hearts so they’ll give into you eating them and/or being made into sushi, I bet,” Joker teased.

“I— I do not!” Mona denied vehemently. “I— what if there are evil fish in the ocean? We could stop them from being mean to the good fish! And, uh, stuff.”

“That seems extremely unlikely,” said Queen. “Say, where are all the Shadows on this floor?”

There was an ominous rattling chain noise.

“Uh-oh,” said Mona, “something’s fishy here!”

“Well, yeah,” said Skull, “we were just talking about fish.”

There was an ominous rattling chain noise.

“I think Mona meant fishy in a different way,” Joker said. “Do you guys notice anything strange? Like, I don’t know…”

There was an _ominous rattling chain noise._

“An ominous rattling chain noise?”

“What?” said Fox, “I don’t know for—”

 **There was an** **_ominous rattling chain noise—_ **

“Oh no!” yelped Panther, “It’s that strong monster Shadow!”

“Oh FUCK!!!” shouted Skull.

“Strong monster Shadow?” Haru questioned.

“It’s like, the guardian, or something…” Joker explained, “It— it doesn’t matter now—” He looked over in the rear view mirror. “OH MY GOD!” He screamed, “IT’S RIGHT BEHIND US! **STEP ON IT, QUEEN!!!!** ”

Queen floored the gas pedal and spun the Mona bus around one-eighty, then sped off randomly to their left in a speeding frenzy. Everyone screamed like crazy as the sound of the rattling chains drew closer, closer… ever closer…

“AHHH WE’RE GONNA DIE!!!!” shrieked Oracle.

“Queen,” shouted Fox, “the stairs, to your right! Hurry!”

* * *

After fleeing from the Reaper, the Thieves made it to a rest area to catch their breath.

“What… the… hell…” Skull was panting like crazy.

“We got away…” Fox was drained.

“God, that was terrifying,” Panther said quietly.

“Yes,” said Queen. “As the lead strategist of the Phantom Thieves— I suggest we adapt our strategy to NEVER DO THAT AGAIN.”

“What an… admirable idea…” Noir coughed.

“Agreed,” said Mona. “I think my tires are burned…”

“I’ll make sure to keep a careful eye out for that Shadow in the future,” Oracle said. “That was the closest we’ve ever come to it… I really don’t want to see it that close again.”

“Me neither,” said Joker. “We have one more request to fulfill for today. Is everyone okay to continue?”

“I need a nap…” Skull groaned.

“Come on, Skull!” said Panther. “It’s just one more! We can do one more!”

“I agree with Panther,” said Makoto, “we have plenty of steam left in us.”

“Yeah,” said Mona, “come on, we’re the famous Phantom Thieves! We can’t let one measly… giant… monstrous… terrifying Shadow get us down! Let’s go team!”

“Very well…” said Haru, “but please… let us rest… a moment…”

* * *

After the team was fully prepared, they headed back into the demonic subways to take care of Yoshikuni Nejima— a jobless forty-year old man who wasted his time causing others much grief by cheating in a video game.

“Who is this guy?” Ryuji wondered.

“A troll,” Joker answered. “He’s hacking this game called Gun About and messing with the other players. He’s a huge douchebag and we need to teach him a lesson.”

“That sounds like a rather trivial objective for the Phantom Thieves,” Noir mused. “Why does it matter? It’s simply a game.”

“Hey!” Panther protested, “come on, some people really love video games! They play them to have fun and be happy! This Nejima person is trampling on that happiness, no matter how small it may seem, we need to make him come to his senses!”

“I suppose that is true…” Noir acknowledged. “Admittedly, I am not much of a video game player, so I would not understand I suppose— but I certainly sympathize.”

“Yes” Fox agreed, “I don’t often play video games either, but is extremely annoying when arrogant individuals suck the fun out of such enjoyable activities for those of others.”

“Yepyep!” Oracle had a passionate tone of irritation in her voice, “I’ve encountered this guy myself, while I was playing the PC version of the game. He was rude, entitled, and killed me like sixty times before I could snipe him. I had to hack the server to kick him out. This man is very immature and is being a nuisance to gamers everywhere. We need to stop him!”

“Weren’t we supposed to have this conversation before we came here?” Mona wondered.

“We do sometimes have second thoughts,” Queen pointed out. “It is not unreasonable to voice them later on.”

“Does anyone have any objections about this?” Joker asked. “Should we not change this guy’s heart?”

Ultimately, no one had any objections.

“Alright, let’s go kick his ass, then!” Skull yelled excitedly.

* * *

“Who’re you?!” shouted Nejima’s Shadow. “Have you come to challenge THE KING OF THE GUN ABOUT WORLD?”

“You bet we have!” Skull shouted back.

“We’re the Phantom Thieves,” Joker taunted, “and we’re here to take your cheating heart!”

“Cheating? HAHAHAHAHA— I have no idea what you’re talking about! I’m the winner! I decide justice! The winners are the ones who are right, it’s the winners who decide what justice is!”

“Winners,” Queen yelled at Nejima, “don’t use cheats! You’re going to lose big time!”

“I am the GOD of the Gun About world!” Nejima proclaimed arrogantly. “I AM INVINCIBLE! No one can ever hope to defeat me! And no matter how many may try, no one can ever **WOUND ME!** ” The Shadow transformed into its true self— a tall lepaord man creature with a cape and two swords.

“What an insufferable and entitled man-child!” Noir exclaimed. “Let us defeat him at once!”

“With pleasure,” Joker said, summoning one of his many Personas. “Leanan Sidhe— **PSIODYNE!** ”

But nothing happened. “Oh man!” Joker groaned.

“Persona— HECATE! **AGIDYNE!** ” Panther’s attack missed as well. “WHAT?!”

“PERSONA— **BEHOLD!** ” Noir shouted. “Destroy them, Milady!” Noir’s Triple Down attack, however, proved useless, as Shadow Nejima dodged again.

“You’re pretty lucky,” Skull said, “but the party stops here! SEITEN TAISEI! **ZIODYNE!** ” But Shadow Nejima again dodged his attack, too. “WHAT THE HELL?!”

“It’s useless,” laughed Nejima’s Shadow, “I AM INVINCIBLE!!”

“That’s— that’s impossible!” Joker said. “No one is invincible! But if you’re going to dodge everything— EVERYTHING we throw at you…” Joker had an idea. “Hang on— I’ve never seen anyone dodge this one! Chernobog— **LIFE DRAIN!** ”

But the Life Drain spell had absolutely no effect. “WHAT? THAT’S NOT POSSIBLE!!!”

_“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA—”_

“Guys, we can’t do anything to him like this!” Oracle called out. “Let’s head back and rethink our approach!”

* * *

“What happened back there?! Our attacks didn’t do anything!” Panther was incredibly irate.

“Indeed,” Fox said. “We didn’t have a chance of winning…”

“Yo, Mona— can’t we do anything to figure this?” Skull asked.

“I don’t know…” Mona was flabbergasted by what had just happened. “Cognition materializes in this place… cognition by nature is unpredictable.”

“If only we could realize what his ability is…” Skull groaned.

“He has no special ability. He’s simply cheating,” said Joker. “It would seem that because of his cognition that he is unbeatable in the real game, he’s unbeatable in the Metaverse too.”

“That’s gotta be it!” Oracle agreed.

“Whoa,” said Noir, “Joker, I’m impressed you figured that out!”

“So what we need to do,” Queen concluded, “is find some way to break his cheats…”

“Let’s figure this out back in reality,” Mona said.

“Sounds like a splendid idea,” Fox said. “In that case, let us go at once.”

 _Nejima…_ Akira thought he had heard someone mention that name before.

* * *

 

 **9/27/2016 ☀ TuESDAY Evening  
** **Days Until Haru is Sold Off: 14**  
**Await the change of heart**

“You’re trying to change the heart of a cheater named Nejima?” Hifumi said curiously. “Ah, it must be that shogi player’s older brother.”

“... Older brother?”

“Yes, do you recall the older teenager I mentioned, who used to cheat at shogi when playing with me?” Akira nodded. “This person has an elder brother who is also a rampant cheater at many kinds of games… However, Akimitsu Nejima has a job and a legitimate life on his own these days. No longer a cheater— he ‘manned up,’ as some might say. Whereas Yoshikuni is a headache to his family and many others, and still lives with his mother.”

“Do you think his brother might have any idea how to beat him?” Akira wondered.

“I haven’t got a clue,” said Hifumi. “I’m not in contact with him anymore— he and I have no reason to associate any further. However he often frequents… oh, there he is right now.”

Akira looked over to see a tall, young respectably dressed man in his early to mid twenties approaching the confession booth. “Akimitsu comes by here often,” Hifumi explained, “to do a confession… He’s rather diligent about it.”

The man entered, as Akira watched curiously. “What’s he confessing?”

“I wasn’t the only child whose face he spat in as a teenager,” Hifumi said. “He did a number of things worse than cheating at shogi…” Hifumi rearranged their shogi board. “If you want to wait and talk to him, I’d advise keeping yourself occupied in the meantime,” she said. “He always takes quite a long time in there. Shall we play another match in the meantime?”

* * *

Just as Hifumi won against Akira— again— the younger Nejima exited the confession booth.

“Excuse me— Are you Akimitsu Nejima?” Akira asked. “My name is Kurusu Akira. I have a question for you…”

“If this is about something I did— please leave me alone. My sins are behind me, and I’d like to continue going back to school and turn over a new leaf.”

“Oh, no,” Akira assured him, “It’s about your older brother.”

“Also not a worthwhile topic of conversation,” said Nejima Akimitsu. “My family is completely a mess thanks to him and his idiocy…”

“Oh? What’d he do?”

“He’s a goddamn moron!” Nejima said. “When he got laid off from his job, Yoshi swiped all our credit cards and bankrupted us just to play some stupid video game— in the process, ruining ALL our credit histories! Then he got bored cause he couldn’t win, so now he’s cheating and ruining the fun for everyone else who worked and bought it with their own damn hard-earned cash…” Nejima huffed angrily.

“He’s been winning for so long that I think if only he were defeated enough times, he’d come to his senses and give us our money back. But there’s nothing we can do… so I’m stuck working this damn boring job to support my family. We live in a shithole of a house and we’re trying to leave… but we can’t. Our credit’s so fucked that we can’t find anyone who’ll agree to work with us.”

“I’m sorry to hear that…” Akira said. “He’s been bothering a lot of people in my friends’ circle lately. We want to beat him in the game to teach him a lesson, or otherwise do something to shut him up. Could you help?”

“I’m sorry,” Nejima shook his head. “I would be pretty happy if someone did something about my idiot brother, but I can’t help you…” He sighed irritably.

“Wait, actually— there is something I can tell you that may be of use,” Nejima realized. “I remember my brother called me late at night to complain that he’d been beaten in the game by this one guy… he’s supposedly the best at this game. They call him ‘The King.’”

“The King?”

“Yeah, I tried to get in touch with him to get his help knocking some sense into my brother— but he doesn’t really give a shit. He just plays his own game. It’d be difficult for you to enlist his help, but he could teach you how to beat my brother, if you can convince him. Perhaps you’d have better luck than I did.”

“Can you tell me where to find him?”

“Can’t remember his real name, sorry,” Nejima told Akira, “it’s been quite awhile. If you ask around though, you’ll figure out who he is. He’s pretty famous among the gamers here…” Nejima turned to leave. “I’ll be seriously grateful if you put my brother in his right mind. If I can just quit this job…”

“Thank you, Nejima-san,” Akira said gratefully, “that was very helpful. I’ll do what I can about your brother.”

* * *

**9/28/2016 ☀ WeDNEDsDaY After School  
** **Days Until Haru is Sold Off: 13**  
**Await the change of heart**

The next day, Akira went looking for the King.

“The King, huh?” wondered Futaba. “I’ve heard about him. He’d almost definitely have some idea what to do. I think if you try asking around at the arcades, you might figure out who he is.”

“Thanks, Futaba!” said Akira, “I’ll let you know when I dig something up.”

* * *

“Pardon,” Akira inquired politely, “do you know where I can find the King?”

“The King? You must be talking about the King of Akihabara.” said the annoyed gamer who had been trying to defeat Nejima. “Yeah, I know him. He’s only in elementary school, but he’s a real pro at Gun About! I bet he’s probably a cheater too…”

“Nah,” said the other gamer, “He’s legit. He’s actually really good at Gun About! You can tell from the way he moves. You’d find him at the Gigolo Arcade after school.”

* * *

“Well, that’s that!” said the King, a little kid with a hoodie and a cap which read “GET SMOKED.” He had blasted two expert opponents to next Sunday, and still clearly wanted more of a challenge. He turned to Akira curiously. “What do you want?”

“Can you teach me some tricks?” Akira asked.

The boy shook his head. “Nah, sounds like too much work. Don’t take it personally, I turn everyone down. Later!” The boy turned to leave, but Akira persisted.

“Wait up,” said Akira, “there’s an invincible player. I have to beat him.”

“Invincible, huh? You mean the cheater, right? Makes me mad when he does that…” The boy shrugged. “I don’t really care, I can still beat him anyway. It ain’t my problem. Just forget him.” Again, the kid made for the door.

“He’s bothering a lot of people,” Akira pleaded. “I gotta stop him from ruining the game for everyone else.”

The boy’s face lit up and he turned around. “You don’t want to beat this guy just for yourself, eh? I’ve never had anyone ask me like that. You sound like the Phantom Thieves…”

He thought it over for a second. “You wanna beat the cheater? Well, you seem like a nice guy and all, but let it go…”

The boy was suddenly introspective. Akira watched curiously, wondering what was stopping him from leaving, as he was about to do a moment ago…

“The Phantom Thieves are really cool… Are you a fan too? Have you met them?!”

“You bet I have!” Akira said, “I go to Shujin. Their first success was there. It was so cool!”

Now he had the boy’s attention, but he still seemed reluctant. “Hmm… well… it won’t be easy to teach you. And I don’t get anything out of it…”

“We can make a deal of some sort,” Akira suggested.

Now The King was seriously listening. “Okay, how about this— I want to meet the Phantom Thieves!”

“Whoa, there—" Akira hadn't expected this at all. "Uh, I don't know that—”

“If you can make that happen, I’ll teach you.” The King's expression made it clear that this was his final offer.

Akira thought for a moment. There was no way the Phantom Thieves could actually meet this kid! _If only he knew he was already talking to one,_ he thought. _Would make this a lot easier for sure._ But… maybe they could do something… like—

“I’ll see what I can do.”

The King was quite surprised. “Whoa— you didn’t say no?! I thought for sure I’d stumped you! But… how are you gonna do that? They can’t show their faces, right? How would I meet them?”

“What’s your name, kid?” Akira asked. “I can introduce you to them!”

“Shinya. Oda Shinya.”

“Alright, Shinya-kun,” Akira told him, smiling. “I’ll come back here when I figure something out.”

“Whoa!” Shinya exclaimed, skeptical, but amazed. “If you really pull this off… well, I’ll be here. In fact, I think I’ll stay here awhile… I feel like playing another game!”

* * *

“Kid wants to meet us, huh?” Futaba said, quite amused. “Hm…”

She thought for a good few minutes, then laughed mischievously.

“All right! I got an idea. Let’s go print up a card!”

* * *

Within an hour, Akira returned to Akihabara and texted Futaba.

Don’t get busted!

**Futaba:** It’ll be fine!

**Futaba:** Okay, commencing the hacking!

Within a few moments, the Gun About website had been hacked. Akira, Joker-smirking like crazy, walked over to Shinya and handed him the calling card.

“A calling card! Whoa! This can’t be real… ‘Thanks for your support. Please help those in need. We’re going to post a secret message, just for you, on the game’s official website!’”

But Shinya was still skeptical. “This card’s gotta be fake… are you sure this ain’t a joke? I'm pretty sure you could buy this at the store...”

Akira pulled out his phone and showed it to Shinya. “Check this out, kid.” There on the screen, was the iconic flaming hat.

** TAKe YOuR hEaRT **

“WHOA— the Phantom Thieves logo! They hacked the site! NO WAY!”

 ** I am thou, thou art I... **  
**Thou hast acquired a new vow.**

** It shall become  the wings of rebellion that  breaketh thy chains of captivity. **

** With the birth of the Tower  Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and  new power... **

* * *

**9/29/2016 ☀ THuRSDAY After School  
** **Days Until Haru is Sold Off: 12**  
**Await the change of heart**

“All right team!” Akira announced, “we can stop that idiot now!”

“Woo hoo!” yelled Ryuji, “alright, let’s go to the Metaverse tomorrow and stick it to him!”

“That story you told us though…” Ann mused, “Not only is he a cheater, but he stole from his own family?! I can’t forgive him!”

“Yes,” said Yusuke, “that is very dishonorable. I am even more certain now that we must defeat him.”

“I agree,” said Makoto. “We can’t let them suffer any longer. Let’s go knock some sense into him!”

* * *

“You again?!” yelled Shadow Nejima. “I am INVINCIBLE! You cannot defeat me!”

“We’re going to stop you,” shouted Joker. “You’re gonna stop ruining Gun About and pay your family back for all the money you stole!”

“What?— how do you know about—” Shadow Nejima was incredulous at the mention of his family. “It doesn’t matter! I will crush you all!”

The Shadow transformed, and the team rushed to battle positions. “All right, Joker—” Oracle said, “that special move the King taught you! Get him!”

Joker pulled out his gun and pointed it at Shadow Nejima, then leaped up into the air, emptying his magazine swiftly upon him. He landed, reloaded quickly, then elegantly leaped again and continued firing nonstop, focusing intently. Time seemed to slow down… And then Nejima’s Shadow was knocked right off his feet as Joker firmly planted himself back in his original position.

“WHAT? A gunshot that surpasses my cheats?! This can’t be? I’m supposed to be the strongest… the king! I don’t believe it!”

“The **true** King sends his regards,” Joker replied, scowling at him mischievously. **_“GAME OVER!”_ **

Upon uttering this taunt, Joker and the party leaped up into the air and rained hell upon Shadow Nejima, making short work of him. He was pretty pathetic and easily defeated. He dissolved back into his inital form and began to speak.

“I-Impossible…” he said weakly, “how could I… it wasn’t… my fault…” Nejima groaned. “I got laid off from my old job… It’s… it’s their fault!”

“That doesn’t give you the right to ruin fun for others,” Joker told him, “or steal money from your own family.”

“I… I know… I’m sorry…” Nejima sobbed. “I’ll stop cheating… I’ll help my family out of this situation…”

“You better!” said Skull. “They don’t deserve to put up with your bullshit!”

“Goodbye, Phantom Thieves…”

Shadow Nejima disappeared, leaving behind a Null Phys skill card, which Joker took in his hands.

“We won!” Panther cheered. “We beat an unbeatable player!”

“Yes,” said Queen. “And things will assuredly get better for his family too.”

“That was an excellent maneuver, Joker,” Fox commented.

“Yeah…” said Joker. He was thinking.

_“To get back at someone who didn’t play by the rules?”_

_“You know shogi isn’t a duel to the death, right?”_

_“But if it were…”_

_“Then… perhaps such a move would be justified.”_

“That wasn’t cheating too, what I did? Was it?”

“No,” Mona answered, “you played by the rules.”

“But the Metaverse is a cognitive world,” Joker supposed. “It has no rules, right? Except the rules we make… or the rules they make…”

“We played by our rules!” Panther said, confident that they were in the right. “And our rules were better than that idiot Nejima’s rules! We didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Yeah, dude,” Skull assured him, “you were good with a gun. That Nejima dude wasn’t shit. Come on, you okay?”

“Yes, Joker,” Queen wondered, “Is something wrong?”

_For now, you must play the game…_

Joker shook his head. “I don’t know. I guess I was just thinking too hard.” He beamed proudly at everyone. “Great job, team. Let’s get out of here!”

* * *

**10/5/2016 ☂ WeDNEDsDaY After School  
** **Days Until Haru is Sold Off: 6**  
**Await the change of heart**

Akira was playing another match with Hifumi. She was besting him, as usual. “Checkmate. Another loss for the Kurusu Castle at the hands of the Togo Kingdom!”

“Like always, of course.” Akira smiled pleasantly. “You know, I used to be a little annoyed when you win— But, it’s actually refreshing to see that my teacher is better than me at the art they teach. It means I have more to learn.”

“Indeed you do,” Hifumi acknowledged, beaming at him. “By the way, did you change Nejima’s heart?”

Akira was about to answer when Nejima Akimustu approached the two of them.

“Excuse me, Kurusu-kun,” the younger Nejima said. “I wanted to tell you— my brother apologized to my family, and he’s got himself a new job to earn back the money he took from us. He also made a really long post on the community forum for that game…”

Akira pulled out his phone and navigated to the Gun About forums, where he saw a popular post labeled, “APOLOGY TO THE COMMUNITY FROM THE CHEATER NEJIMA.” He opened it and began to read out loud,

“‘To the community of the popular video game Gun About,

“‘I have greatly sinned, and committed many cheats in your fun video game. In doing this, I first harassed players by cheating in the arcade version of the game. When I got tired of that, I wasted a lot of money on microtransactions in the PC version of the game, and further gamed the system when I ran out of money to illegally obtain OP items and weapons—’”

“What does OP mean?” Hifumi inquired.

“It’s internet lingo,” Akira explained. “It stands for ‘overpowered.’” He continued reading: “‘obtain OP items and weapons, and used many hacks with a malicious game hacking software package in order to remotely steal in game currency from players, decrease their power levels, and generally make the game unenjoyable for all except myself. I saw myself as the king of Gun About and now I understand that this is not true.

“‘Furthermore, outside of the game world, I stole money from my family after I got laid off from my job and used it to buy an enormous amount of more in game items. It is due to my greedy addiction, and theft of their property, that they have been plunged into poverty and now find it difficult to move forward with their lives. From this day forth, I will work to help them and generally be a productive member of society.

“‘I will resign from playing Gun About for the rest of my life, and in fact request that I be officially banned from the game in order to prevent my toxic addiction from reawakening. Here are all the usernames of the players I have wronged, and a detailed account of the instances in which they were subjected to my cheating…’”

Akira was impressed. “It really says all their names! Wow.”

“I think he spent way more time than he needed to on all that,” said Nejima, “but I’m proud of him for finally waking up and taking responsibility. What on Earth did you say to him? It’s as if he had a change of heart…”

Akira winked at Hifumi. “I didn’t do much,” Akira said. “I just beat him! I guess he hadn’t lost for awhile…”

“Yeah, he must be really upset about losing… that must be it. Well, whatever you did— thank you so much! My family and I will be forever grateful for what you’ve done.”

“No problem,” Akira said, grinning. Nejima walked away and, Akira looked at Hifumi, grinning. “You’re a wonderful thief,” she said. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you stole my heart as well.”

“I already stole a different heart,” Akira quipped. “Don’t get any ideas…”

“I know,” Hifumi smiled knowingly. “Shall we play again?”

* * *

“Greetings, Akira,” Akechi said pleasantly. Akira was in his Phantom Thief outfit, and Akechi was wearing casual winter clothes.

“Oh hey… good to see you, Akechi,” Akira lied. “What day is it?”

“It’s 10/10/20XX,” Akechi replied pleasantly. “You did such an excellent job changing Okumura’s heart!”

“What?” Akira was baffled. “How do you know we did it? And why are you complimented me for it?”

Akechi laughed. “Ah— Akira, I am simply commending you on a job well done! It’s what a friend would do, after all.” _Sippp._ “Even if I do not necessarily approve of the job itself, I must acknowledge your good accomplishments. As someone who cares for you.”

Akira smiled slyly. “I see… then thank you. In that case, Akechi. You did a very excellent job deducing that we have, in fact, changed Okumura’s heart!”

“Yes,” Akechi said, “yes I have. And he’ll confess tomorrow, won’t he? I wonder what will come of that…” He smiled. “It will surely provide me with more evidence, with which to put me one step further on the path to arresting you. I am very impressed with how long you have managed to elude my efforts thus far.”

“I am very impressed with how long you’ve persisted,” Akira replied. “With each step you take, we will remain two steps ahead, and you will not catch up to us. We’re too fast, and too clever for you, Akechi. In fact, it’s been laughably easy for us to escape your clutches— you really ought to up your game so we can have more of a challenge.”

They both laughed heartily.

Akechi was quiet for a moment. Then he said, regrettably:

“Isn’t this boring?”

“Hmm…” Akira pondered that thought for a few short minutes.

“Doesn’t this seem like just business as usual to you? If neither of us ever truly bests the other, or at least comes close… isn’t it just the same? Don’t you wish that we could have more fun with this?”

“Yeah… I suppose… but don’t we have to do our jobs?”

“True,” Akechi agreed. “I suppose the only way to make it more exciting would be to up the stakes. We both seem to be doing our very best to live up to the other’s challenge. Maybe you should get a bigger target.”

“Maybe you should break into my room,” Akira suggested, “and search for evidence, despite lacking a warrant.”

“That would go against my values,” Akechi pointed out, “and besides, I know you’re so clever that you’d have left no evidence. Besides, it sounds like a trap.”

“That is true. Were our positions reversed, I would also be suspicious of such a suggestion.”

“Of course you would.”

Akechi finished his coffee.

“Well,” Akechi mused, “there is little point in me staying here any longer. I have much work to do. And besides…” he smiled. “Things will get more exciting soon, I think.”

“Why do you say that?”

“I have a hunch. I’ve learned to trust my hunches…”

* * *

As Goro Akechi departed from Kurusu Akira’s dream world, he chuckled. “Yes, it’s a very reliable hunch…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all for now. I'll put out some more chapters after I have some sleep and do stuff and stuff etc. See you all later!


	12. The Justice Calls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okumura is dead. Why has this happened? Akira isn't sure yet, but what he is sure of is that Goro Akechi is approaching ever closer. The Justice is calling, and the Justice cannot be ignored. The Justice will prevail. Or so Justice thinks... Special Guest Appearance by an enemy takoyaki!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this is the first chapter where I really changed and added a significant amount of scenes! There will be some bigger changes in the upcoming chapters, to clean up mistakes I made the first time around and give certain plot points more clarity. That's why this is taking so long, so I apologize for that. The basic story structure did not change, I just added a bunch of scenes to flesh out the narrative here and make this whole thing cooler.
> 
> May be worth noting that I have made a number of errors relating to the consistency of this edited version of the story. First: Anyone who read the original _Many Arrests_ will know that I used the JP name format of last name first first name last blablabla (Kurusu Akira, as opposed to Akira Kurusu) and I decided to change that here. However, in editing I have occasionally forgotten to fix this. I'll go back and fix mistakes like that when I notice them (or when they are pointed out).
> 
> Secondly is all my [CSS formatting.](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PaintingTheMedium) I really don't know if this is working or not, if it makes sense etc so I would love it if some of you could tell me if it looks okay. If not, well, I don't know. But yeah, I've had some different ideas about how to polish up the story, so, there may be some differences observed as I go back and change things around to match.
> 
> Anyway, I hope everyone new to the story is enjoying it, and everyone who isn't likes the new additions. Thanks to all of you for reading/commenting/clicking etc!

**10/11/2016 ☀ TuESDAY Evening**

Haru was beyond shocked. Her father… Why? What had she done…

Akira was not feeling much better. Had he… they… NO! What had they done…

Everyone was generally just freaked out. No one was in the mood to hang around at Destinyland. Makoto suggested they all go home, and was met with no opposition whatsoever…

* * *

Haru: **Did… did we kill my father…? Did you… trick me?**

** Haru… no! We didn't! **

Ryuji: **DAMMIT! THIS DOESN’T MAKE ANY FUCKING SENSE!**

Yusuke: **I cannot believe this! We must have been set up!**

Makoto: **If that is the case… then who set us up?**

Haru: **…**

Haru: **I-I’m sorry everyone. I won’t be using this chat for awhile. I’ll see you all at school… If you go to Mementos, please, go without me.**

Ann: **Haru…**

_**Haru is offline.**_

Akira put away his phone. He was absolutely stunned. Was Haru going to be okay? What she had said in the chat… If she believed that she had been mistaken— that she had been hoodwinked into joining a gang of murderers… If Haru decided that— how would they convince her otherwise?

He was riding the subway back to Yongen alone… he looked around the interior of the train. Voices were flying back and forth. Everyone was talking about Okumura.

 _Did you see the news?!_  
_He collapsed… what a letdown._  
_Man, that was gross!_  
_EPIC LIKE LIKE LIKE!_  
_Is he dead?_  
_We don’t know…_  
_Perhaps… !_  
_Wasn’t he targeted by…?_  
_The Phantom Thieves!!_  
_HE’S DEAD! THEY SAID HE’S DEAD!  
Holy shit, dude._

Akira’s mind flashed back to that day… The first day he had come to Tokyo. Two girls had been talking. About mental shutdowns…

_WHAT, are you for real? A “mental shutdown?”_

**_It’s the truth!_ **

_To a person though? That’s gotta be a joke…_

_You really love all that occult stuff don’t you_

He was as lonely and isolated as he had been that first day… except then, he had no idea what they were talking about. The conversation he’d overheard had held no meaning to him whatsoever. All he wanted to do was sit, be quiet, and never be seen or spoken to again in this awful prison of a subway…

But today, overheard exchanges such as these held a much greater impact. They made Akira want to get up from his seat. He wanted to stand up and punch somebody. He didn’t know who, he didn’t know why— but there was somebody he wanted to punch.

He swore to himself, that he would find them, and he would make them pay for murdering Haru’s father. For the subway accident. For causing so much suffering. And... for discrediting the Phantom Thieves.

* * *

**_BAM!_**

As Akira’s gloved fist connected with Akechi’s face, his chair toppled over and his coffee mug shattered upon the floor.

“Ouch!” he said. “Akira, that was an admirable blow, but you’ve almost certainly blackened my eye. What did you do that for?!”

“My apologies, Akechi,” Akira said politely, “but I’ve been really mad all evening, since Okumura suffered a mental shutdown and the blame was pinned onto us Phantom Thieves. I am sure you know me well enough to understand that I am most certainly not a murderer, and neither are any of my friends. It does not please me to be thought of as such.”

“That does not explain this sudden violent maneuver,” Akechi pointed out.

“Hold your horses, I was getting to that. You see,” Akira continued. “I’ve been wanting to punch the person responsible. But since I don’t know who that is, I decided to punch you instead. I needed to release this pent-up energy so that I could control myself. I do hope you don’t mind.”

“Oh, not at all,” Akechi smiled pleasantly. “As a matter of fact—” There was a flash of blue, and Akechi, now in his Metaverse outfit, balled his fist and socked his rival square in the jaw.

Akira fell to the floor, and spit out a tooth. “Come on, Akechi! I didn’t hit you _that_ hard.”

“Do not worry,” Akechi said, beaming at him, “your tooth hasn’t actually fallen out— this is only a dream after all. Now, since you have rendered my coffee undrinkable, would you mind brewing me another?”

“Can’t you just make one magically appear?”

“I could,” Akechi agreed. “But it’s simply more ethical for you to take responsibility. And besides, I don't feel like it.”

Akira didn't agree with Akechi's laziness, but decided it was important to keep up appearances. So he got behind the counter, and began brewing Akechi some more coffee.

“So, do you believe I’m responsible for Okumura’s death?” he asked.

“No, no not at all,” Akechi assured him. “It’s as you said— I do not believe you a murderer. It would violate the justice you uphold.”

“Who do you think did do it?”

“Someone who has our same power, obviously,” Akechi guessed thoughtfully, “possibly even greater powers. Additionally, someone who is watching over you, who has known about your group for some time now, who has a sinister motive. Perhaps a political one— they may mean to rise to power somehow, or assist another in doing so.”

“What do you think about that?” Akira inquired. “It being political, I mean.”

“Oh, I couldn’t care less about politics,” Akechi chuckled. “After all, you and I are both too young to vote in any elections.”

“Understandable,” Akira replied. He handed Akechi his coffee.

“Thank you,” Akechi said gladly, taking a deep sip. “Now, I still haven’t the foggiest idea who would have such motives, or why they would want to incriminate you in them. Perhaps they are trying to cover their tracks. Yes... that must be it.”

“You really have no clue what’s going on?”

“Do you mean to suggest that I am deceiving you, Akira?”

Akira thought this over for a moment.

Yes— Akechi was extremely suspicious. Though Akira had come to appreciate his company, he still was very wary of the supposed boy detective. He was now pretending to like him in order to gain his trust— something that he sensed Akechi was doing as well.

If Akechi was thinking this through the same way he was, perhaps he would come to the same conclusion— neither of them truly trusted the other, and they were both working against each other with this power. It was a furious, intense game of wits, and neither boy had any clue who was winning. How, Akira wondered, would it end?

“Not at all,” Akira falsely affirmed, as convincingly as he could, “I am simply surprised that you, being the Ace Detective that you are, have not deduced any possible suspects.”

“I see,” Akechi smiled warmly, and stood up. “Akira, my friend— if I discover any leads, I promise you, you will be the first to know after my colleagues within the police. After all, if the Phantom Thieves are able to expose this culprit themselves, then even while I cannot catch them it may certainly make my job easier.”

Akechi stood up, and looked at his coffee. “Ah, it appears I have not finished drinking this,” he noted. “I will simply have to take it with me.” He stood up, and turned to leave the store. “Goodbye for now, Akira. I will see you again soon, I am sure. There are many puzzles left unsolved…”

Akechi left the store. “Wait!” Akira called. “Where— and how —are you taking that coffee?!”

But he was already gone.

* * *

**_10/11, 10/12, 10/13, 10/14, 10/15, 10/16, 10/17, 10/18, 10/19, 10/20, 10/21, 10/22, 10/23, 10/24, 10/25, 10/26, 10/27, 10/28, 10/29, 10/30, 10/31, 11/1, 11/2, 11/3, 11/4, 11/5, 11/6, 11/7, 11/8…_ ** **_  
_ **

**??/??/20XX **

“What in the world did the police inject into you?!” Sae Niijima yelled. Akira’s vision went dark…

…

…

_Akira Kurusu! Wake up!_

…

…

“We’ve arrived at your most recent target—

…

“Sae Niijima. Myself.”

Sae slid the calling card onto the table… she was shaking with fear.

“Explain everything, please. Am I to be— did you— did you change me?”

Akira was silent.

Sae was quietly terrified. Her breathing slowed steadily, and her heart felt like it might fall out of her chest.

She wondered, _What— what would a change of heart feel like? Would it be painful? Would it— it— or what if— What if he’s lying… about what he did to Okumura?_

_What if I’m a dead woman walking?_

* * *

**10/13/2016 ☀ THuRSDAY Early Morning**

Akira's phone was buzzing...

Haru: **Akira…**

Haru: **My apologies for messaging you so early in the morning.**

Haru: **Things have calmed down at home…**

Haru: **I thought about it, and I think you and the others meant no harm, but, I just can’t...**

Akira was unsure how to reply. He remained silent for a moment.

Haru: **Sorry… this is a lot to take in at this hour…**

Haru: **Can we meet at the hideout today?**

**Sure. I’ll let everyone know.**

Haru: **Okay… I’ll see you all there.**

* * *

**10/13/2016 ☀ THuRSDAY After School**

_"We must build a society in which the young can be hopeful for a brighter tomorrow!"_ shouted an unseen man from outside the window. Some sort of politician. _"With your help, I, and I alone, can achieve this great and noble end, and we may set sail for..."_ His voice faded away into the distance.

"It's so damn loud!" complained Ryuji. "Heard some dude sounding like that just the other day. Goddamn it, don't they ever know when to shut the hell up?!"

Akira thought it was interesting. Didn't Akechi say something about politics in his dream just recently?

**_After all, you and I are too young to vote in any elections..._ **

_I suppose that's true, Akechi,_ Akira reasoned in his mind.  _However, the way you said that— it was almost as if..._

"Hm? Where's Haru?"

 _Oh, yeah._ Futaba was right. Haru wasn't here yet. Wasn't she coming? She was the reason why they were meeting, after all.

"She'll show up eventually," Ryuji said, unintentionally echoing Akira's thoughts.

"Well, even though things have calmed down, she must be preoccupied with what happened with her father..." Ann supposed. "Wait, WHAT?!"

Her sudden shout startled the group.

"What's up?" Futaba asked, sounding quite curious about the reason for the sudden outburst.

"People are saying online that WE killed Okumura!"

Most of the team looked shocked, except for Akira...

 _I saw this coming. So did Akechi... Wait. Could it be?!..._ _No. Akechi's certainly suspicious, but that theory is way too wild. But then again, he did say that..._

... and Yusuke.

"So it's already begun," he mused, rather regretfully.

"What?!" Ryuji gave Yusuke an appalled look. "The hell are you talking about?"

"Think about it. The CEO collapsed the way he did, while making a confession that our group caused. Even Haru wondered if it was us. Doesn't it seem like a natural conclusion for an uninitiated observer to come to?

"But still!" Ann protested, "they were raving about how great we were! And now we're being treated like murderers?!"

"Yeah, it's really weird," Akira agreed, thinking about what Igor had told him the previous night.

_What of the general public?_

As the team continued discussing the situation, Haru walked into the room. The talk died down, and everyone silently turned to face her, all looking quite melancholy. The memory of her terrified reaction to her father's mental shutdown was still fresh in everyone's mind.

“I’m sorry I’m late. It’s been… difficult…”

“You have my condolences, Haru.” Makoto spoke with an earnest tone of empathy.

"Thank you for..." Her response hung in the air for a moment, ultimately left unfinished.

Haru looked almost... ashamed. Her face was extremely hard to read.

“I have a question,” Haru looked at them apprehensively, a dead serious expression etched upon her face. “Did you target the principal?”

Everyone looked surprised and confused. “Our principal?! Shujin’s? Wha— what makes you think that?” Akira wondered.

“The authorities visited my home in search of evidence,” Haru explained. “While they were there, I overheard someone telling a public prosecutor about a calling card in the principal’s office. It was a woman named— Niijima-san.”

Makoto’s face fell. “Sis…” she whispered quietly. Akira wanted to hug Makoto close and comfort her, but he restrained himself. Now was not the time.

“Did you do— did you—”

Everyone looked at Haru expectantly. She breathed hard, then turned and said, in a forceful and interrogatory tone: “Did you kill him? Did you make him have a mental shutdown?!”

Everyone nearly jumped in surprise. Then, they all started yelling at once.

“WHAT?!” Ryuji was appalled. “You— are you accusin’ us? Just like everyone else?!”

“That couldn’t be!” Morgana mewed indignantly. “I— no— I’m sure— I’m sure!! We only took the Treasure— nothing else!”

“Haru!” Ann said. “We— we— we didn’t trick you into killing your father! You saw what happened! We were as confused as you were!”

“I am above such senseless acts as cold-blooded murder!” Yusuke protested. “How could you—”

“We— we didn’t!” Makoto nearly cried. “I can’t imagine ever having any— is this what Sis thinks?” She placed her face in her hands and sobbed. “Sis…”

Futaba said nothing, but she was clearly unnerved.

“Haru,” Akira said, slowly, carefully, kindly— “We couldn’t have. We would never be able to live with ourselves if we became killers. We’re just not those kind of people. We would never lie to you. Please believe us.”

Haru’s face was pale. It seemed she was sorry she’d said anything.

“Are you still doubtful of us?” Akira asked.

Haru paused a moment, then said— “No. No, I don’t think so. I was in a lot of emotional turmoil when I said… what I did. I’m sorry. I don’t think you deceived me or that you are the ones behind the mental shutdowns.” She took a deep, cautious breath. “Thank you for answering my question…”

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, all looking at Haru again. Makoto wiped tears from her face.

“Thank you, Haru,” said Ann. “I feel better knowing that.”

Everyone else nodded in agreement with Ann.

* * *

**10/16/2016 ☀ SuNDAY Evening**

“Are you tired?”

It was the day before exams. Akira was studying with Makoto at Leblanc. They had been doing so for a good few hours. She should have been the one asking him that, but instead, it was her own concentration that was waning. “Yes…” she said. “I’m not feeling very okay. I need to rest..."

Makoto laid down in the booth and closed her eyes. “I…” she said slowly, “I miss my sister as she was.”

“I’ve been thinking, if you want to change her heart— perhaps we can do it by ourselves?” Akira suggested. “Just the two of us, in secret, without the others.”

Makoto shook her head weakly. “No… no, we can’t. That would be too dangerous. I don’t want you to get yourself hurt for my sake.”

“I understand,” Akira said kindly. “I don’t want you to get hurt either…” he offered her a cup of coffee.

“mm mm,” Makoto murmured, her eyes barely opening, holding out her exposed palm to signal refusal of the drink. “I don’t need coffee…”

“What do you need, then?” Akira wondered, deciding to drink the coffee himself.

“You, Akira… come here… please?”

Akira set aside the coffee and moved to sit next to Makoto, who adjusted her position to place her head in his lap.

“Akira?”

“Yes, Queen?” Makoto smiled softly at being called by her thief name.

“Joker… let’s… stay here…”

“Sojiro will find us.”

“Upstairs…”

“Fine by me.” Akira got up and carried Makoto. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders firmly and buried her face in his chest…

“I think… I think I may want to tell the others… soon… but not now”

“About?” Akira sat on his bed and let Makoto down into his lap, gently stroking her face and hair.

“My sister…” Makoto groaned softly. “I don’t want to let it be anymore. I don’t want to let my sister… ruin herself… ruin me… you… all of us— but… it’s difficult… what would I say… how?”

“I can help you.”

Makoto smiled and mumbled a grateful “thank you.”

“When?”

“When… when I’m ready… I’ll tell you…”

“We can do it anytime.”

* * *

**10/20/2016 ☀ THuRSDAY Evening**

Makoto had been thinking about it for awhile now. Despite her sleepy vow to Akira that she would tell the team about her sister’s Palace, she was having second thoughts. She’d told Akira as much, and he didn’t mind, but—

She was scared. What if Sae found out? What if Sae’s change of heart went bad? Or— or if she was targeted and killed, the same as Okumura. And— what would Sae think? Would she think she was going to be killed? Or what if she knew…

“She can’t know… that I’m one of them…”

The door opened and closed.

“I’m home,” said Sae. She sounded exhausted, like she had had a very long, draining day… as usual.

“Hi Sis,” Makoto called out. “Should I warm up dinner for you?”

“No, it’s okay.”

“How about a bath?”

“No need,” Sae said curtly, entering the room. “I only came home to get a change of clothes.”

“Are you going to stay at work then?” Makoto inquired nervously. _Sis… it’s the middle of the night… why? What’s so important now?_

Sae hesitated to speak.

“I’ve been entrusted with a very important task.”

“You look awful…”

“As an adult, there are times when failure is not tolerated. It will be all over for me if I can’t win this!”

“But if you were to collapse from exhaustion—”

But Sae was having none of it. “This is my one chance to get a promotion!” she shouted forcefully. Makoto recoiled at her tone.

Sae looked regretful at having raised her voice. “I heard detectives are coming to school… that must make it difficult to focus on your studies. Don’t worry. It’ll all be over soon.”

_Over… ?_

“What do you mean?”

“I’m going to catch the Phantom Thieves myself.”

_B_ _ut— Why— Sis!_

“Is that the important task you mentioned?” Makoto asked, doing her best to keep her face straight. _I can’t betray my true feelings…_

“It’s none of your concern!” Sae insisted. She turned around and left without getting the change of clothes she had been seeking.

Makoto had felt so confident and comfortable with the thought when she told Akira about Sae’s Palace. When Akira had held her to his chest, when she had whispered it to him… _Anytime_ , he had said. But… but how was she supposed to tell them?!

_I need to get over this fear… we need to change her— no, save her heart! I need to tell them… why can’t I let go of this feeling of—_

“This is bad…” she whispered to herself… “I need to let everyone know!”

* * *

**10/24/2016 ☀ MoNDaY Evening**

Akira was growing more suspicious of Akechi by the minute.  _You're back awfully late,_ he had said. What was he playing at? What did he know about Akira's habits? And that man on the TV...

"That politician is honest and carries an overwhelming amount of charisma!" commented Sojiro's only current customer. "It seems like a trustworthy leader for Japan has finally come forth! Don't you think, Boss?"

"Sorry, wasn't listening."

Akira was wondering where this man had come from. Why couldn't he remember? It was as if something was maliciously obstructing his memory. Could this be the evil entity controlling his dreams?

"I wonder," Akechi mused. "He calls them criminals... but that is ignorant of their true nature. If they were naught but murderers, why would they make an artist and a teacher apologize? Could a murder truly have been enacted by the same group?"

"Maybe not," Akira replied. "Maybe they were framed."

"Yes, that must be it," Akechi replied, his eyes twinkling. "So even though they aren't quite innocent..."

"But they are innocent," Akira snapped.

"Hahaha!" Akechi laughed for a good few seconds. "I knew there was something special about you, Akira, ever since the first time we met. I feel as though I could tell you anything during our conversations."

"Love at first sight, huh?" Akira smirked. "Don't think that makes us best friends or anything."

"Oh, Akira, I would never dream of thinking such a thing," Akechi assured him, smiling knowingly. "I simply mean to say that you have a great many redeeming qualities. Ah that reminds me... I've been invited to a panel at Shujin Academy."

"So you have, huh?" Akira shrugged nonchalantly. "Wow. Such big news."

"Oh, I suppose you already knew. Considering it's such a good opportunity, I've decided to accept the offer!" He got up and turned to Sojiro. "Thank you for the coffee. It was delicious."

"Glad you liked it," Sojiro replied, barely lifting his eyes from the dishes he was washing.

"I'm happy I could see you," Akechi said, turning back to Akira. "I'll be going now." He turned and left Leblanc.

"What's with you two?" Sojiro asked. "I've never seen you look at anyone so venemously."

"You noticed, huh?" Akira was amused by Sojiro's intuition. "He's no good. Kick him out next time he comes by here."

"You think so?" Sojiro chuckled. "Well, no good or not, I'm gonna have to say no to that. Cafe's open to anyone."

Akira rolled his eyes. Course Sojiro wouldn't listen to him. And of course, Akira couldn't explain the truth, especially considering it'd likely get him thrown out.

"Come to think of it," Sojiro mused, "he was going on about some real complicated stuff..."

Akira was quite amused by this comment, knowing how much more complicated Akechi could get.

* * *

**10/25/2016 ☀ TuESDAY Afternoon**

"We planned on stealing intel," Morgana pondered, deep in thought, "but we just might fall into another trap. I'm gonna be bummed if that happens..."

"Hell no!" Akira declared. "That's not going to happen."

 _It's not going to happen._ Akira was certain of this. He and Akechi had an agreement to honor. This was all just part of their game. He had no evidence. No means of exposing them.

"I'm of the same mind," agreed Makoto, "but still, it doesn't change the fact that we don't know what Akechi-kun is planning."

"Whatever he's planning," Ryuji asserted confidently, "we're not gonna let him get us!"

The takoyaki was soon delivered, and there was a brief debate among the team over what made the "special" one special.

"It's like," Ann suggested, "going for the obvious one is manly?"

"Is that so?" Morgana said curiously. There was a look of strong interest in his eyes, as they passed between the "special" takoyaki piece and "Lady Ann..."

"I would prefer the most beautifully shapen one," Yusuke commented, looking quite disappointed, "but all of them are misshapen."

"Aren't any of you eating?" Haru inquired, sounding somewhat concerned. "I think I'll go for the special one!"

"Wait..." Makoto's face was that of disbelief. It was honestly kind of cute. "Is she honestly going for it?"

"Do _you_  wanna go for the red one?" Ryuji asked Akira, giving him a daring look.

Akira thought it over for a moment. The special takoyaki, much like Akechi, was a mysterious and unknown intruder. An unexpected and unwelcome hazard. What might happen, if he were to consume it? Perhaps, it would wage war on his insides, and take over his body from inside out. It could be a manifestation of...

"I'll take it!" Akira reached his hand out for it. After all, he was a Phantom Thief, and it was part of his existence to oppose the norm, do the unexpected, face spectacular dangers! This mysterious, menacing red takoyaki would be taken on by Joker, and Joker would defeat it with style.

"Ooh!" Ann grinned. "Impressive as always!"

"Oh, everyone's all here!"

 _Akechi? Why was he here?!_ Akira shifted his attention away from the takoyaki and turned to look up at Akechi. He was grinning wildly, seeming ridiculously pleased for some reason.

 _So you found us again, huh?_ Akira thought.

* * *

_Yes,_ Akechi spiritually communicated, intuiting Akira's nonverbal message.  _I'm going to win this time, you know._

_Oh, I'd like to see you try..._

"What are you doing here?!" Niijima-san inquired. "The panel isn't until tomorrow!"

"Oh, I came to check out the venue!" Akechi lied, carefully and ever-so-slyly observing the Phantom Thieves. No one was around! This couldn't be a better place to assess his targets. Soon, he was going to entrap them all, and they would be defeated...

"There's going to be a lot of people, so I can't make any mistakes!"

Indeed he could not.

However, it was quite clear that Akira Kurusu, the cunning, chivalrous Joker, felt much the same way.  _I will win..._

 _No,_ Akechi returned as he made contact, with his bright red-brown eyes.  _I will win! You and your little friends will be devestated, Joker!_

"Someone's eager," Isshiki's daughter commented. Akechi snickered in his mind, remembering how foolish he had been all those years ago, after having the-then Futaba Isshiki at that convenience store two years ago. She obviously didn't remember the encounter, which he found quite interesting. He didn't imagine it would be something easily forgotten.

"Everyone ended up recognizing me," he went on. "They all bombarded me with questions."

"Cause you were sloppy, duh," Sakamoto muttered under his breath.

Akechi elected to ignore that comment. "I grew quite tired of the baseless rumors they were all bringing up. So, I escaped to where there weren't any people." Akechi turned to Akira. "I imagine you can relate, can't you? People talking about you and your undeserved reputation behind your back all the time?"

"That's none of your business," Akira told Akechi plainly, and he laughed.

"Ha, I suppose it is not! My apologies for prying into such a personal matter." He approached the table, looking at the food they had ordered. "Is that takoyaki? It looks quite strange, yet alluring. It must be delicious!"

"I'm quite sure it is," Kitagawa agreed halfheartedly. "However, this cannot be confirmed. We have not tried a bite of it, on account of its odd appearance. But—"

"Oh, is that so?" Akechi reached out and picked up the red takoyaki. It indeed looked odd, but quite intriguing. "I suppose if you aren't intending to eat it, I'll take the liberty of sampling it for myself. We'll call it my performance fee."

"No!" Okumura gasped, as the boy detective popped it into his mouth, "the special one!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Akechi said, through a mouthful of the takoyaki, "I didn't consider— oh!" The unusual flavor radiated throughout the inner workings of his sensitive tastebuds. He then swallowed it, delighted. "My, this is quite deli-"

**_CRITICAL_ **

Suddenly, a horrendous sensation of fire erupted within Akechi's throat. He gagged. Akira seemed to be snickering at him. Almost as if...

"What's the matter?" Joker inquired, smirking his biggest Joker smirk. "Ain't it good?"

"HNNNNGH?!" Akechi gasped, spitting out the little bits and pieces of it that had lodged between his teeth.

"Eating it in one bite is a real bad idea..." Takamaki noted.

 _I'll say!_ Akechi thought to himself, furiously.  _Why didn't anyone tell me, dammit?! You idiots! You're all... going to... pay..._

Akira was still smirking. He looked more and more delighted by the second at seeing Akechi suffer the consequences of such a critical oversight.

"My throat! AGH! My stomach! Ow! Ow, owowow it burns!"

"Are you OK? Do you need water?" Takamaki asked, appearing quite concerned.

 _NO... I will not... not... not admit... Defeat!_ Akechi did his best to regain his composure.

"I'm fine! I-I-just love... spicy stuff... hahaha!" Akechi smiled at everyone weakly, his body still shaking from the shock.

"Hey, does he sound broken to you?" Isshiki's daughter asked.

Akechi couldn't take this humiliation anymore. "I-I-I'll see you all... tomorrow." He turned and walked away.  _You win this time, Akira..._

* * *

Akira had never been more thankful for such poorly made food in his life. He was delighted by the outcome of this latest stage in his game with Akechi. He had thought of the takoyaki as a dangerous enemy. But indeed, it had quickly become his greatest ally.

"Wow," Ann commented, "he's really trying to hold it together! Waddling around like some sort of comedian."

"Yeah," Ryuji agreed, "like he wants to get picked up for a commercial or something..."

"But... did he truly come simply to check out the venue?" Yusuke wondered.

Exactly the question that had been on Akira's mind...

No— of course not. Akira knew the real reason: He was monitoring them. But he couldn’t tell anyone he knew that… could he? None of his teammates would believe that Akechi was invading his dreams. It would be too much for them to swallow.

But he was coming back tomorrow, for the panel. Akira may have come out on top this time, but he was incredibly stressed. How was he supposed to tell his team the truth about Akechi? Akira needed to stay cool, and keep his head down. They were going to talk to him. He couldn’t tell anyone he knew, because he couldn’t tell anyone how he knew— but this was not going to play out well.

* * *

**10/26/2016 ☀ WeDNESDaY Afternoon**

“I’m sure you all would’ve been happier to have a singer or a mascot appear, wouldn’t you say?” Everyone in the audience of the festival panel laughed. _“You’re so funny, Akechi-kun!”_ someone called out from the audience. Akira watched from the balcony with Ryuji, Ann, and Yusuke. He was already irked enough by Akechi’s facade, but he was even more bothered seeing people falling for it.

“How much do you think he knows?” Ann wondered.

“Probably quite a bit,” Akira said. “He may not have evidence, though. Let’s hope we don’t have to worry…”

“This is unsettling,” Yusuke commented. “He talks of how the Phantom Thieves are dangerous— yet says they haven’t committed any murders. What is his true agenda here?”

“Come on Makoto,” Ryuji whispered (for a change), “you gotta get it out of him!”

Makoto asked Akechi a number of questions about his investigation. The progress, the murders, their guilt or innocence— all expected stuff. They had talked for a good short while before Akechi made a critical comment which caught Akira’s attention:

“If the Phantom Thieves are the ones I know of, I can’t imagine they would possibly kill anyone.”

 _WHAT?!_ Akira was dumbfounded. _I’m perfectly aware you know who we are— but you’re going to tell people here? Akechi! You have no evidence! We made an agreement—_

He felt violated somehow. Even though he hadn’t exactly trusted Akechi fully, he had considered that distrust an inescapable condition of their game, a game of wits, of mystery, driven by how little they knew for certain about one another. Akira had agreed to attempt to evade Akechi, Akechi had agreed to attempt to catch him. Akira had respected that agreement. He hadn’t even told his teammates of it.

Akechi was now saying to an entire roomful of people that he knew who they were, with nothing on which to base that claim except his own personal knowledge. He was breaking the rules of their game… He was pulling the false shogi piece out of his pocket.

“Your comment just now— does that mean the police have identified who they are?”

“Oh no, the police haven’t gotten that far yet. But I have made my own personal conclusion regarding their true identities.”

The audience murmured excitedly. Meanwhile, the Phantom Thieves were panicking. Ryuji, Ann, and Yusuke expressed confusion and disbelief. Down below, Haru and Futaba, sitting in the audience together, exchanged frenzied whispers. Akira, meanwhile, was panicking as well— but for a completely different reason.

Onstage, Makoto kept her cool, but Akira had known her well and long enough to know that inside, she was freaking out.

Akechi turned his attention to her curiously. “Are you going to ask who they are?”

“It may have repercussions on the investigation. Are you sure you can share that with us?” Makoto said.

“Oh, it’s only my personal opinion. Announcing that here wouldn’t pose a problem. The identities of the Phantom Thieves are—”

**_RING RING_ **

_Saved by the bell,_ Akira mused. _How convenient… too convenient._

“Ah, I apologize for the interruption, but I can’t turn my phone off due to my job,” Akechi told the audience. “Would you mind if I step away for about ten minutes?”

“Very well,” Makoto said, “I’m terribly sorry, but we’ll be taking a break. The panel will resume in ten minutes, everyone!”

“Please don’t troll me online for this interruption, okay?”

As the audience alternatively complained and chattered, Akechi walked over and whispered something to Makoto.

“What the hell is going on?!” Ryuji groaned.

“I think we’re in trouble,” Ann said. “He’s going to do something to us…”

Their phones all buzzed.

Makoto: **Akechi wants us to grant him an audience. Meet in the PE faculty office.**

* * *

**10/26/2016 ☀ WeDNESDaY Evening**

“What do you want to talk about?” Makoto said apprehensively. In response, Akechi pulled out three printed photographs of Yusuke and Ann, each one progressively showing more of them phasing out of existence in front of Okumura’s corporate headquarters. Traveling to the Metaverse…

 _You— you— YOU—_ Akira was utterly dumbfounded. **_FUCK YOU, AKECHI!!!_ **

Not only had Akechi publicly announced that he knew the identities of the Phantom Thieves, he had not told Akira there was any proof of it! This was supposed to be a fair, honest challenge! Akechi had been hanging onto these for a month? And never told him? How was Akira supposed to make a move, if he couldn’t see where all the pieces were on the board?

Akira was furious. What little trust he had in Akechi’s ethics had now vanished. _Very well, Mr. Ace Detective. If you don't play fair, then neither will I._

“All of you can go to that other world, yes?” Akechi continued. Akira snapped out of his angry reverie— he hadn’t been paying attention the last couple moments.

“What world?” Akira asked, pretending not to know, keeping his temperament under control carefully.

 _You taught me, Akechi, how to hide myself,_ Akira said. _You will never catch me. I will anticipate your every move. I will win your game. I will have the last play._

“You know what world,” Akechi insisted. “It’s because of those mysterious powers, isn’t it?”

Akechi pulled out his phone and showed it to them— the Metanav was there. “I found out about that world a month ago… this had been installed onto my phone without my knowledge.”

“Dude, it’s the Nav…” Ryuji was shocked.

 _Bullshit!_ Akira thought. _You’ve been in my dreams AND the Metaverse, chasing us, for the better part of the year! Don’t think you can get away with feeding my teammates some dumb story and not expect me to say anything!_

But that was exactly what the boy did. Akira played along, but inside he was freaking out. Akechi had the upper hand— he knew full well that Akira had no evidence on which to base any claims of his untrustworthiness. Did he? Akira could say that he was simply suspicious… but—

He calmed down. He was being foolish. Akechi was being foolish as well— he was underestimating this team. He was going to get outsmarted.

And all of a sudden, in the blink of an eye— Akira knew _how._

He would never see it coming.

* * *

“Hey,” said Morgana. Akechi had finished talking and everyone had left. “They’re going?”

Akira simply stood and looked at Morgana knowingly, and urgently. Morgana shared the same intuition. “You realized it too, then,” he said.

“It was our conversation about pancakes, right?”

* * *

**_“I’VE ALWAYS LOVED YOU!!!”_** Akira shouted.

“WHAT?!” Makoto’s voice sounded unusually high all of a sudden.

_“Now THIS is drama! A boy caught in the throes of bittersweet youth! A stunning confession of love!”_

Makoto and Akira had now escaped to the rooftop.

“This may be a little rude to say, but you’re surprisingly reliable in a pinch. My sister if I get married, my husband should be someone dependable like that—” Makoto gasped. “Oh, um… uh… forget what I just said!”

Akira smiled gently. “Could you say that again?”

“Oh… um… urrrgh!”

Akira laughed. “I’m sorry, never mind that.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to… uh… think about it… it’s just—”

“Seriously, don’t worry about it. Anyway, about Akechi…”

“What about him?”

“He doesn’t seem right. Morgana and I had a chat…” He told Makoto all about the pancakes.

“Oh,” said Makoto. “Yeah, I thought there was something off about him too. Everything he said.”

“Keep a close eye on him, alright, Makoto?”

She nodded. “I will do just that.”

“Oh, and by the way—”

She handed him a small plain white box labeled “MAKOTO DONUTS.” Based on the smell, the contents were aromatically delectable.

“‘Makoto Donuts’— Like, your special donuts? For me? That’s adorable!” Akira said. He opened the box and peeked inside. “These look delicious! Thank you so much!”

“I… I wouldn’t say… ‘special’ donuts,” Makoto told him, “I’m not a very experienced pastry making person.”

“Don’t worry,” Akira grinned at her sweetly. “You made them, so I’m certain they’re incredible.”

“I hope you enjoy them.”

* * *

Akira was tired…

Sojiro had found him out…

What was going to happen?

He fell asleep…

* * *

“I apologize for lying to your friends,” Akechi said regrettably. “But I couldn’t explain our dreams, now could I? If I told them I’d known about you all this long, it would have incited more questions.”

“...”

Akira wasn’t certain how to respond without giving away his position…

“We agreed to keep this between us, didn’t we? Besides, they would never believe you if you told them I had intruded upon your dream world.”

Why did Akira believe this? Was it really true? Were his teammates so closed-minded that after witnessing a world of Palaces based on people’s hearts that they would refuse to consider the possibility that dreams could be invaded, used against people, mined for information?

But he decided it was necessary to play along with Akechi for now.

“You’re right. It wouldn’t do us any good to tell them.”

"I'm glad you agree," Akechi said, smiling. "Telling the others about all this dream business would only provoke unwanted confusion. Let's keep it between us!"

Akira maintained his usual pleasant facade— same as Akechi. He couldn’t show any sign that anything was up. It would be the same as usual.

* * *

**10/28/2016 ☀ FRiDaY After School**

Leblanc.

“I’ll be blunt,” Akechi said. “I’m thinking of triggering a change of heart in Sae-san. I’ve already discovered that she has a Palace.”

Makoto shifted uncomfortably in her seat, trying to hide her shock at Akechi's knowledge of this. Knowledge she had only shared with Akira.

 _I see._ Akira was impressed. _So this is the way you’ll get us. Impressive. I wonder what your plan is, exactly. How are you going to corner us in the Metaverse?_

“My objective is to find the true culprit,” Akechi explained. “I assume the same can be said for all of you as well. However, the current state of affairs is bleak…”

_True enough._

Akechi continued on for a while longer, answering the occasional questions from the team as he went.

After Akechi concluded, Haru asked, “Why are you willing to do this, Akechi-kun? Why do you seek justice?”

“I want to know that too,” Akira seconded. “Ann was sexually preyed upon by a teacher. Yusuke was abused by his sensei. Ryuji was kicked off the track team and labeled a delinquent. Futaba was lied to about her mother’s death. Makoto’s father died fighting for justice. Haru was used as a tool by her father to attain power and influence, and I…” Akira sighed.

“I was charged for a crime I didn’t commit, all at the whim of some arrogant shithead with connections to the police. We all have reasons why we’re doing this. We were all wronged by by an unjust society, all because of a bunch of assholes. We all have stories. Why don’t you tell us yours?”

“I suppose that is a reasonable request,” Akechi agreed. “Very well…”

“When I was a small child, my father killed my mother. They had… differences…. between them. I don’t know exactly what. My mother was terribly depressed. She drunk all the time, and couldn’t care for me very much, but she was the only one willing to raise me— she was all I had. When she died, my father refused custody of me, and I was handed over to a foster home.”

“Dude…” Ryuji looked genuinely sorry.

“The evidence surrounding the investigation of her death was laced with red tape by some unknown person or group, obviously one with political sway,” Akechi continued. “Her death was labeled a suicide, my father disappeared, and he never faced justice. I lived a miserable life— until I realized how good I was at making deductions.”

Akechi wore a melancholy expression. “By sheer luck, I was granted audience with a man who had… connections, and he gave me a job as his private detective, solving personal cases for him. Before long, I earned attention from another person involved in one such case, and he offered me another job with the SIU. I found myself in a real investigation unit, being labeled a prodigy— a prince— an ace— a hero— a number of other distinguished titles.

“But I didn’t truly know why I was doing this. It wasn’t until I solved a case the police had struggled with, eerily similar to mine— it was quite a shock. A woman’s body had been found buried in a ditch on the side of the road, with nothing on or near the scene to trace back to a perpetrator. Her child had been abandoned at a gas station several miles away. Professional detectives struggled to solve the mystery, but using my deductive skills, I uncovered the culprit— her husband— with ease.

“I then realized, when reflecting upon the similarities between this case and the incident which placed me into a life of misery, that I wanted to solve cases like that. Cases that placed unjustly innocent people in harm’s way. I began to solve bigger, and bigger mysteries. Before long, I became the famous Ace Detective you see today.”

Akechi absentmindedly straightened his tie, as he finished the story. “But even as my life has taken a great turn for the better— I cannot forget the day my mother died. That’s why I keep going. I can’t make my father atone for his crimes, but I can prevent others like him— such sickening human beings— from walking the streets freely. And that,” he concluded, “is why I am so bent on upholding justice in this world.”

“Doesn’t he remind you of us… ?” Ann wondered aloud.

“So we’re similar, hm?” Akechi mused. “I guess that’s why I thought I could ask this of you all. So, what do you say?” He turned to Akira. “Won’t you cooperate with me on the mission to change Sae-san’s heart?”

Akira considered this carefully. It certainly didn’t sound like a lie, but it didn’t sound like the full truth, either. And it wasn’t like there was a choice— so he held out his hand welcomingly.

“Thank you, Akechi, for telling us that,” he said, smiling warmly. “You’re one of us now.”

And despite all that was between them… he wasn’t sure, but Akechi’s story had made him feel sympathetic, even if it wasn’t entirely true. His feelings appeared genuine. Perhaps— perhaps Akira really meant it.

* * *

Makoto was quite shaken. She was not happy with this turn of events… she had wanted to change Sae’s heart anyway, but like this? With Akechi?! Why was this happening to her? She wasn’t ready…

_Well, I have to tell them now…_

“I never brought it up… but the reason I joined the Phantom Thieves is… is… because I wanted to change my sister’s heart.”

Makoto felt her face melting, her eyes moistening. _There it is… the cat’s out of the bag._ “I was hoping it’s never come to pass. I’ve also known for quite some time that she has Palace.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Ann asked.

 _A whole host of reasons…_ But Makoto only gave one.

“I— it was too selfish.”

“Why don’t we try going there now to scope the place out?” Akechi suggested. “A lot of this will be new to me, so I’d like to get myself accustomed to it too.”

_Today?! I— I don’t. Whatever horrors lie in that place— I can’t take it today. But how am I supposed to say that… Urrrgh, Akechi was never very tactful._

“I’m sorry. I actually have plans today…”

Everyone looked at Makoto with looks of either confusion, concern, or some mix of the two. “I see,” Akechi replied, “that’s unfortunate.”

“Are you going to tell your sister?” Haru asked.

“Of course not… it’s just…”

“Mako-chan…”

“You seem awfully evasive today,” Yusuke pointed out, “Is something the matter?”

“I— I just can’t today,” Makoto was distraught.

“Let’s call it a day then,” Akechi suggested, “and resume this tomorrow.”

_Oh thank goodness…_

“I’m sorry, everyone.”

* * *

“You… you told them…” Akira swallowed, looking at Makoto with deep empathy. “Do you want to talk?”

“I can’t,” Makoto told him. “I’m sorry, Akira… I’m just not feeling good. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Akechi emerged out of the toilet just as everyone else had left— which Akira considered odd, as he had not heard it flush. _Akechi isn’t even trying anymore… he thinks he’s just as good as won this game._

“Isn’t it wonderful?” Akechi said, “strange and baffling, that such a small place in which you have only lived for such a brief period of your life became the center of your dream world?” Akechi smiled at Akira. “Leblanc must hold a special place in your heart. You must have made many impactful memories here in a very short time…”

“I suppose that’s true.” Akira looked around the store pensively. Yes… Akechi raised a valid issue. Why, oh why, was this place of all places where all his dreams began and ended?

It was not a question that Akira had difficulty answering. “After all… this is my home. This is where I live, eat curry, have coffee, meet my friends. My castle, in a way.”

“Your castle? As in, you are the king of this place? I thought you were above such self-centered thoughts.” Akechi laughed.

“Not in that sense,” Akira clarified. “It’s a fortress— a safe place of sanctuary. That’s why my dreams are all centered around an unwanted guest entering— my worst fear, besides time, is that someone with ill intent will breach my sanctuary.”

“I see…” Akechi said. “That certainly makes sense. Anyway, I stayed because I wished to return this.” He pulled out a familiar coffee cup. It was the one Akechi had taken with him out of Akira’s dream. “This didn’t technically exist in this world before I took it out with me— but it belongs here. You should keep it.”

“No, Akechi,” Akira refused, gently smiling. “You keep it.”

Akechi had not been expecting this. “Are you sure?”

“Please,” Akira said, “We have plenty of coffee cups here— we do not need another. Consider it a souvenir— a symbol of our friendship.”

“I see. In that case,” Akechi put it back in his bag.

“Thank you, Akira, for our friendship.”

“You’re welcome.”

The two boys shook hands earnestly, and Akechi departed.

Akira had not been lying to Akechi. Leblanc was his castle. But not just Leblanc— Shujin, Shibuya, the church, the arcade, inside Morgana’s bus form. In fact, anywhere except where he fought Shadows in the Metaverse. Anywhere where he grew his bonds, where he found himself… home.

After half a year of living here, Tokyo was his home— more his home than his hometown had ever been. He had found his home, within his prison, and he was grateful to all the people who had helped him find it.

The true culprit had intruded upon his sanctuary. And it was not just he who was being threatened. Akira was going to protect his home— and his friends. He was going to defend their castle.

* * *

**10/29/2016 ☁ SATuRDaY After School**

“We should probably get going soon,” said Akechi. “After all, people like us loitering here is quite unnatural. Well then...” He retrieved his phone and was about to open the Metanav, when all of a sudden Futaba gasped. “That’s—”

“Huh? What about my smartphone?”

She snatched it from him excitedly and looked at it like an early Christmas present. Akechi yelped in surprise.

“That’s the model I wanted! You’re so lucky… !” Futaba pretended to be impressed with it.

Everyone groaned. “I’m sorry…” Ann said apologetically, “until recently, Futaba was a… well…”

“It’s okay, Sae-san told me the gist,” Akechi said pleasantly while Futaba continued staring at his phone with wide eyes.

While Futaba looked at his phone, Akechi discussed with the team their plan for maintaining communication.

“Well then… I hope we get along,” Akechi said.

Futaba handed back his phone, beaming at him. “You’ve got good personality AND good looks? Talk about cheating!”

As Akira and the team had their phones open, figuring out the Palace keywords, Futaba discreetly sent Akira a text.

Futaba: **His phone sucks! It’s very archaic and outdated; I wouldn’t recommend it. He also doesn’t look all that great.**

Akira chuckled to himself. Akechi had indeed cheated at their game, but now was Akira’s turn— and the first stage of his defense was underway.


	13. The Defense and Execution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the discovery of Akechi's true intention— playing a diabolical role in a despicable plot to end the Phantom Thieves for good —Joker and his team begin their plot to retaliate, defend the Kurusu Castle, and pull off what will unquestionably be their greatest feat yet. It's time for this thrilling match between thief and detective to reach its ultimate climax. But I assure you, dear reader, that this story is far from over.
> 
> Special guest appearance by a terrifyingly sick monster!

**10/31/2016 ☀ MoNDaY Early Morning**  
**Days Until Investigation: 20**  
**Steal Sae Niijima's heart**

Akira had a text from Futaba.

Futaba: **There’s something we need to talk about— without Akechi.**

Futaba: **Can you get everyone together today?**

Akira grinned. Futaba had found something out from that bug she had planted on Akechi’s phone. Soon, they would be able to make a plan.

**Yeah, I’ll call everyone individually.**

Futaba: **Awesome. Make sure he’s not anywhere near Leblanc when we meet.**

**Will do.**

* * *

**10/31/2016 ☀ MoNDaY Evening**  
**Days Until Investigation: 20**  
**Steal Sae Niijima's heart**

 _“We could say he stole the guard’s gun and committed suicide during his imprisonment… how about that?”_ Akechi’s voice said casually.

 _"Excellent,"_ responded a mysterious, heavily processed voice. _"That shall do splendidly. The righteous Phantom Thieves shall be torn apart."_

 _“Very well,”_ Akechi’s voice went on. _“The guard will be one of ours— but we’ll have to kill him afterwards, to eliminate the evidence. And thus, the dangerous criminal responsible for the mass mental shutdowns shall end his own life…”_

 _"Good,"_ the unknown voice said. _"_ _Please contact me again when you have carried this out. Do not disappoint me."_

Futaba paused the recording.

Everyone was absolutely shocked. _I’m going to be arrested,_ Akira thought, incredulous, _and **shot in the face** by Akechi while in police custody? If there’s anything more messed up than this… _ He’d known Akechi was shady. But that he would kill him?

“This is on a completely different level!” Ryuji exclaimed in disbelief.

“I had my reservations about Akechi,” Yusuke told them, “but to think he was planning this… I now understand what it means to feel a chill down my spine.”

“He… he killed Father…” Haru was stricken with horror.

“He’s… someone like that… inside my sister’s heart?!” Makoto was utterly shocked.

 _I can’t keep this from them any longer…_ “There’s something else I should tell you all,” Akira said firmly.

Everyone looked at Akira curiously.

“Akechi…” he deliberated a moment, but there was no turning away from this now. “Akechi has been in my dreams.”

“What the hell d’you mean?!” Ryuji yelled.

“He has some kind of special power,” he explained, “that allows him to enter my dream world.”

No one seemed to follow what he was saying.

“What? Your... dream world? Do you mean that you have a Palace?” Ann was confused. “How can that be?”

“No! I— it’s hard to explain. There’s the dream world, and then there’s the cognitive world… the cognitive world is another world… the dream world is just, well, my thoughts. Like, the cognitive world reflects one’s heart, from outside of them, and one’s heart reflects the cognitive world… The dream world is entirely self-contained.”

Morgana, much to Akira’s surprise, seemed to understand, and he nodded. “I knew there was something weird going on,” he said. “You kept muttering in your sleep about coffee and uttering bizarre challenges to unseen people. Akechi had been using his powers to enter your dream world?”

Akira nodded back in reply to confirm. “Makes sense,” Morgana said. “I saw the way Akechi looked at you these past few months. I don’t think he could’ve have known so much about us otherwise.”

“Yes. Akechi essentially interrupts my dreams and inserts himself into the dream world. He’s known that we were the Phantom Thieves for months— but he had no evidence,” Akira went on. “I challenged Akechi to catch me, and he challenged me to elude him. Meeting in the dreams, we spoke under a sort of truce. He assured me he would eventually catch me, but even so… he acted like a friend.”

The team was incredibly stupefied at that statement. “Your… friend?!” Makoto said, astounded that Akira would say such a thing.

“Well, it wasn’t as if I trusted him… more like… frenemies. His exact words were ‘we have jobs.’ He acted like he didn’t hold anything personal against me— even commended me on my actions…”

“Why are you telling us all this only now?!” Ann yelled at him. She slapped Akira in the face. “You should have said something sooner!!!”

“I— I’m sorry. I didn’t think you’d believe me. And Akechi and I agreed to keep it to ourselves,” Akira said apologetically. “I know it was foolish… to doubt you all, or to trust Akechi, even for a second…”

“Well, I’m glad you came to your senses and told us,” said Yusuke. “Please keep us posted if he enters your dreams again.”

“So he’s been manipulating you and stalking us for months… and not only was he trying to frame us,” Makoto said in disgust, “but he was the true culprit behind the mental shutdowns.”

We have to prevent this!” Morgana determined, and everyone unanimously expressed their agreement. “... but how?”

“Can’t we just use the recording as proof?!” Ryuji asked. “Ain’t that enough?!”

“No,” Makoto explained, “You heard that garbled voice, right? Akechi is but a tool. His orders come from someone else— a greater enemy. Someone with great power and authority. Someone fiendish enough that they would ordering and arranging the conditions for a young boy to commit such an awful crime, in a police station no less…”

 _The game goes deeper than I thought._ “We need to learn who this person is,” Akira declared, “and strike back against them!”

“But how can we accomplish that?” Haru wondered.

“That’ll be hard,” Futaba said, “their voice is processed with some sort of modulator, and Akechi never refers to them by name.”

“We’ll have to make to make Akechi say it,” said Yusuke, “but once we do, this mastermind will most likely eliminate us.”

“He’ll do that anyway,” said Makoto. “But he hasn’t yet, because we’re an easy scapegoat— if he realizes that isn’t possible any longer, he may opt to kill us immediately.”

The team mulled it over for a long time. It was a difficult challenge. If they went with Akechi’s plan, the mastermind would kill them. If they went against Akechi’s plan, the mastermind would kill them. _A choice… Where do I want to move…_

He thought back to his conversation with Hifumi…

_“Isn’t it an interesting strategy? Fake the enemy out, pretend to lose, and then fight back when they’re least expecting it…”_

_“The rules of the game wouldn’t permit it…”_

_“Like, your opponent cheated— so you outsmart them. And then they think they got you—”_

“Can we outsmart them?” Akira asked. “This plan to arrest me in the Palace… can we fool them somehow?”

“Like how?” Yusuke said curiously. “As in, make them believe they won?”

“Palace…” Futaba’s face brightened mischievously. “AHA!” she said triumphantly, standing up. “Yes, there is a way to do something like that! We can use the Palace!”

“What’s this all of a sudden?! What do you mean?” Ann questioned, surprised at the sudden outburst.

“There’s a way to outwit Akechi AND get the mastermind to lay off us so we can buy time to learn who he is!” Futaba said excitedly. She now had everyone’s attention. “If Akechi wants to kill Akira… why not let him?”

Everyone was taken aback at these words.

“Wait— WHAT??” Akira nearly toppled out of his chair. “What do you mean, let him kill me?!”

“Are you crazy?!” Ryuji yelled.

“Kill you… _inside the Palace!_ ”

“The cognitive Akira…” Makoto realized. “Yes! Akechi will kill Sis’s cognition of you, and you’ll survive in the real world and make your escape! It seems that would be our only option…”

“But how?” Akira asked, “How will we trick Akechi into the Metaverse? How will we get him to reveal this enemy’s name? Won’t I still be inside the real police station? And won’t cognitive me look different from real me?”

“After you escape,” Makoto said, “we’ll think of some way to capture Akechi and trick him into telling us what we need to know before defeating him. And about your cognitive self— No, I don’t think so. Do you recall what Akechi said about Sis’s cognitions in her Palace? He said—” Akira suddenly recalled what Makoto was talking about—

 _“‘Sae-san’s view of people is surprisingly undistorted.’_ ” Akira and Makoto quoted simultaneously.

“Precisely,” Makoto affirmed. “Sis isn’t as severely deluded as our past allies who had twisted bizarre cognitions of the population. She sees people exactly as they are. So she will see you in the interrogation room exactly as you are— and her cognition of you in her Palace will appear, in the interrogation room, exactly as you are.

“We’ll need to put Akechi in the Metaverse. Futaba, you’ve been studying technology in there, and the Metanav. What can you do about that?”

“Well…” Futaba began slowly, “he needs to be in close physical proximity with a phone. And then, it needs to activated… but none of us can be there… So how…” Futaba thought a moment, then said— “I can write an application to activate it remotely.”

“That’s possible?”

“It should be. I’m certain that it’ll work! But, we need someone to bring it to Akechi. And the only person who can do that is— your sister!” Futaba was certain. “Your sister is our only hope. She needs to rescue Akira and get a death certificate forged to dupe the enemy.”

“Forge a death certificate?!” Ann exclaimed. “How are we going to convince her to do that?”

“Only one way… it’s a gamble. But I’m confident it will work in our favor.” Makoto said. She turned to Akira. “You’ll need to remind Sis of the justice she has abandoned.”

“Remind her of her justice?” Akira was baffled. “How do I do that?”

“Akira. Think a moment,” said Yusuke. “Do you remember what happened with me?”

“With me?” Haru added.

“With me,” Ann agreed, with conviction.

“With me too! With all your friends!” Ryuji added. “Your shogi master, the phony fortune teller, a drunk journalist— even your homeroom teacher of all people, for cryin’ out loud!”

“What did I do?”

“You rescued us,” said Makoto, “Akira, you rescued all of us. We were all trapped by this society— prisoners. You broke the chains that tied us all down to this world.” She smiled at him gratefully. “You’re a very special person, Akira. You have the power to awaken people, to remind them of what they have lost.”

“It is a unique talent of yours,” Yusuke agreed. “You have, without fail, consistently freed good people from the clutches of their social obligation to ignore their problems.”

“Yeah!” said Ryuji. “All I did was complain about Kamoshida— until you showed up! You got me to do something about that guy! If anyone can make Makoto’s sis come to her senses— it’s you, man!”

“It can only be you,” Morgana told him. “Niijima Sae is a good person. Her true heart is buried under a mass of jealousy and an obligation to her job. Only you can save Niijima, Akira. Only you can convince her to assist us.”

Akira was dumbfounded.

“This… this is a big responsibility… won’t we change her heart anyway? Can’t she just turn to our side that way… ?”

Everyone looked at Akira, confused.

“Akira,” Futaba said, “if we change her heart, she might not show up to the interrogation room to begin with. Plus, if we steal her Treasure, the Palace will collapse. The cops Akechi’s bringing in will die if that happens!”

“Akechi seems to be unaware of that detail,” Makoto agreed. “He only saw a Palace collapse as a result of a change of heart once— Okumura’s. He must have dismissed it offhand.”

“Plus, Okumura’s Shadow was activating a self-destruct sequence anyway,” Yusuke pointed out. “Akechi may have not realized that the collapse was not his doing.”

“We need to pretend to steal the Treasure,” Makoto agreed. “We’ll leave a fake in a nearby safe room. Akira will take it, run, get arrested— and the plan will go from there.”

“I don’t know if I can do this…” Akira was not confident in himself. He was supposed to make such a complicated move? How? How would he pull this off?

“Akira,” Haru said. “You can do it. We know you can.”

Makoto beamed at him warmly. “You _have_ to do it. You’re the only one who can. We have complete faith in you, Akira.”

* * *

After the others left, Akira, Futaba and Morgana stayed behind to talk. “Hey,” said Morgana, “didn’t Niijima mention a special interrogation room?”

“Special room…” Futaba thought a moment… “that’s right!”

“Akira’s going to be taken there, and interrogated by Niijima, correct?”

“Yeah…” said Akira. “If that’s the case… I’ll have to ‘die’ in there…”

“Yes,” Morgana confirmed. “But I was thinking… what if Akechi comes before Niijima?”

“Won’t work like that,” Futaba said. “I hacked the SIU and police station databases. With Akechi’s tip and their plan to arrest you, they’ve made a conveniently detailed timeline of events. Niijima and Akechi made appointments, and they’re most certainly going to keep them. And since Niijima is heading the investigation while Akechi’s basically a kid mascot? She’d definitely go first.”

“Good work, Futaba!” Akira patted her on the back appreciatively.

"We'll have to visit this interrogation room," Morgana told them, "before **November 19th.** That's the day we're going to execute the plan. Right, Leader?"

Akira nodded firmly, grinning proudly at his cat. "Right!"

* * *

**11/10/2016 ☀ THuRSDAY After School**  
**Days Until Execution: 10**  
**Trick Goro Akechi**  
**『Fake death in the interrogation room』**  
**『Discover mastermind's identity』**

A couple days after reaching the Treasure room, the team— sans Akechi —set out to scout the police station where the interrogation room was located.

“I don’t like the look of this place,” Ann said, looking quite nervous.

“Hey, Morgana,” Akira asked. “How do we know Niijima has the police station and interrogation room in her cognition? If she hasn’t been here yet, will this exist in the Metaverse— or will her cognition of this place be empty space or something?”

“It’ll be fine,” said Morgana. “She knows where it is, and at the very least she’s seen photos of it. Though if she hasn’t been here in person yet there may be some slight—”

“She’s been here,” Makoto assured them. “I’m very certain of this. Sis is extremely dedicated to this case— so she would almost certainly have scouted this place out when she had a spare moment.”

“If you’re so sure…” Ryuji was clearly not comfortable with the possibility that Niijima’s cognition of this place might be distorted or nonexistent — and neither was anyone else.

“I hope you’re correct,” Yusuke said cautiously. “I personally would not like to have come all this way only to be met with a nonexistent or distorted version of the police station and interrogation room.”

“I hope not as well,” Haru agreed nervously. “We’ll find out for ourselves soon, however— shall we get going?”

“Yep yep!” Futaba said excitedly. “Activating the Nav!”

Akira experienced a different kind of Metaverse travel, for the second time— instead of reality going out and a bizarre new world coming in, the world remained the same. They were instead met with a simple sensation of purple fuzz, and the world— as well as their clothes— remained as it was.

Thankfully, the police station did in fact exist as it ought to have in Niijima's world. The team entered, and were met with a host of cognitions of police officers, guards, investigators, and interns with rather generic faces. The cognitive beings completely ignored them and continued working.

“They aren’t doing anything…” Ann noted.

“They have no reason to be acting in her cognition at the moment,” Morgana pointed out. “Niijima Sae is cognitive of these people being here— but not of what they’re doing at this moment in time. Couple that with the fact that she doesn’t personally know any of them, or have any clue what they’d do if the Phantom Thieves waltzed in here— and you’ve got a whole bunch of blank slates.”

“I see…” Akira said. “Hmm… so what will happen to the cognition of these people when she comes here again?”

“They’ll change,” Morgana explained, “once she’s actually here, has seen what they are doing, and their faces are fresh in her mind.”

“That certainly makes sense,” Yusuke nodded.

“But what if their faces and actions don’t change to match reality?” Haru whispered. “So many things could go wrong. This is scary…”

Makoto was quiet for a moment, but then said,

“It’s not like we have any other option but this plan. We’ll have to risk it.”

“Yes,” said Morgana. “Quick warning, everyone— do not speak to, touch, or otherwise make contact with any of the cognitions. There’s a slight possibility that Niijima’s default cognition will have them react in an unhelpful way if we do so.”

Everyone nodded. “By the way,” asked Ann, “do we need to use codenames for this?”

“Well, we’re not in our Phantom Thief outfits. We’re not seen as a threat from this place. I’d say it’s safe to use our real names for a change,” Morgana decided.

Akira smiled in agreement. “It would be refreshing. This is a different kind of infiltration, after all.”

“All right!” Futaba said, “let’s use our real names this time then!”

Tiptoeing around the cognitions, Akira carefully approached a large set of keys on the wall, and read the labels carefully.

 _TOILET_  
_JANITOR’S CLOSET_  
_BREAK ROOM_  
_CELL #1— 5_  
_CELL #5— 10  
_ _CELL #10— 15_

There were way too many cells. Akira kept going…

 _CELL #65— 70_  
_ATTIC_  
_PANTRY_  
_SERGEANT'S OFFICE_  
_UPSTAIRS INTERROGATION ROOMS_  
_DOWNSTAIRS INTERROGATION ROOMS  
_ _UNDERGROUND INTERROGATION ROOMS_

“I found it!” Akira slipped the key off the ring. “Let’s go down and check it out.”

“Hm,” Haru mused, “This is supposed to be a special, secret interrogation room. Why is the key for it here, among all the other regular keys for things like the toilet and the closet?”

“Her cognition?” Futaba suggested.

“That must be it,” Morgana agreed. “Since Niijima isn’t in charge of the keys and doesn’t know where they actually are, and likely hasn’t thought about it much, her cognition must be that the key for that room is with all the other keys. I guess it doesn’t matter— makes it easier for us anyways!”

“This is possibly the easiest infiltration we’ve ever undertaken,” commented Yusuke, “in preparation for the most challenging operation we’ve ever planned to pull off.”

“Well, I’m SO down with this!” Ryuji said excitedly. “We don’t gotta solve any traps or nothin’! This is gonna be great!”

The team went downstairs to the basement of the police station, where they saw a conspicuously large, heavily secured door. “Wait,” said Makoto, “that door has bars on it and all… but only requires one easily located key?”

“I guess?” Akira wondered. He turned the key in the lock, and it promptly opened up. “Must be related to your sister not knowing anything about the keys or doors.”

“I guess so…” Makoto decided, “ah well. Let’s keep going.” They proceeded down the stairs and kept on moving, until they reached another door.

“An elevator… hm! They’re really serious about this.” Futaba hit the button. There was a pleasant _ding_ and it promptly opened. They all cautiously entered, and Akira pressed the button for the “Interrogation” floor— but nothing happened. The button did not maintain its light.

“It won’t go!” he said in surprise.

“Hmm,” Yusuke murmured, “what is that black thing there?”

“Black thing?”

“Yes, that black square with the tiny light bulb.”

Akira took a look and observed what Yusuke was pointing to. A small black… “A keycard reader…”

“Sis must have seen a guard use his keycard here,” Makoto theorized. “But if the ease of finding a key is anything to go by, we shouldn’t have a difficult time finding a keycard…”

“But we have to walk all the way back up and down again…” Ryuji groaned. “Do we really gotta do that?”

“Hmm…” Morgana wondered, “there may be a way to speed this up.” Everyone looked at him curiously. “All Niijima saw was someone using an ID card, right? She didn’t necessarily see what the ID card looked like, or form any conscious conclusions regarding what sort of ID card. She likely just thought, ‘ID card…’”

Morgana’s eyes lit up. “Akira! Do you have your school ID on you?”

“Are you saying…” Akira was stunned by the audacity of the thought.

“It seems so…” Makoto came to the same conclusion.

“Let’s try it!” Ann agreed enthusiastically. Akira pulled his Shujin Academy ID out of his pocket and placed it against the reader. It beeped, and then he pressed the button. To everyone’s pleasant surprise, the elevator began to move. “Whoa,” said Ryuji, “I can’t believe that actually worked!”

“Muhahaha!” Morgana mewed mischievously. “All right, we made it. Let’s go in!”

The underground interrogation rooms and the corridor in wished they were housed were both stark, pale, dark and surprisingly clean. Akira was stunned by the tactlessness of their appearance. “What an odd minimalist aesthetic,” Yusuke mused. “The hallway is rather narrow, however.”

“Out of Metaverse…” Akira murmured, pressing the Metanav app button to take the team out of Sae’s Palace. They were sent back to reality— which appeared entirely the same. “And back into Metaverse.” Akira navigated them back in, and nothing changed. “There we go— this place is the same in both worlds. It should be alright.”

“Hmm…” Makoto was thoughtful. “This’ll be quite a risk to take. We have no choice but to take the opportunity..."

“I think it’ll work,” Futaba said confidently. “You can’t tell a thing!”

* * *

**11/13/2016 ☀  SuNDAY Daytime FLu SeAsoN**  
**『Head for the depths』**  
**『Change the target's heart』**

The team was in Mementos again to change a few random hearts. Akechi went along with them, which felt odd, considering how they now knew of his true motives. “Ah,” Crow said. “I suppose I could use this time to work out the culprit of the mystery novel I picked up.”

“I’ve been reading one of those! That Inaba book,” Queen replied. “I don’t try to figure those out though— I just enjoy the twists, personally. It’s much more fun that way.”

“More fun to not know?” Crow mused, “Hm, I suppose there are merits in lacking certain knowledge about such cases.”

 _Well_ , Joker considered, _you’re quite an untwist, yourself._

“I once read a mystery story about a motorcycle theft,” Noir said. “It wasn’t much though— simply a few underwhelming paragraphs in a PSA intended to educate people on how to prevent vehicle theft. Not very exciting.”

“Perhaps I should buy a motorcycle,” Crow replied, “Riding in this has put me in the mood to get my own vehicle in reality.”

“Queen, have you got your motorcycle license yet?” Joker asked.

“No,” said Queen, “I’ve been quite busy, and plus, Sis is rather opposed to me riding a motorcycle— she claims it to be too dangerous.”

“That sucks,” Skull groaned. “I really wanted to see you ridin’ one.”

“Perhaps she will allow you one when we change her heart,” Crow suggested. Queen’s face fell, and Joker reached behind his place in the front and slapped Crow’s hand reproachfully. “Oh,” Crow said, “did I say something wrong? My apologies.”

Still a completely insensitive idiot, Crow was. He didn’t understand how sore of a subject that was, and it completely pissed Joker off. _I suppose that’s to be expected from my future ‘murderer.’_

“Let’s change the subject.” Panther proposed, and Queen breathed a grateful sigh in relief. “When you go shopping for the ‘job’ do you end up buying unrelated stuff too?”

“I guess candy and soda’s still good for recoverin’,” Skull determined, “so, nah, not really.”

“Candy is delicious!” Oracle commented. “Don’t you think so, Mona?”

“I always choke on those stupid hard candies…” Mona said. Clearly, he had not been pleased with the taste of them.

“Candies are yummy,” Noir contributed cheerily. “I always so enjoy eating candy in the Metaverse. It gets my blood pumping so I experience more pleasure from destroying Shadows.”

“What about other kinds of food?” Fox wondered.

“Well, I suppose I do get quite thirsty here,” Haru considered. “Perhaps next time I should bring a smoothie.”

“A smoothie— what kind of a drink is that?” Fox questioned.

“It’s a blended combo of fresh fruit, water, and ice,” Joker informed him.

“That sounds most intriguing…”

“I hear smoothies are very unhealthy in the long term,” Queen noted. “There’s too much sugar in the fruits they use.”

“But I drink smoothies every day and I’m fine!” Panther protested.

“Well, you’re a special kind of overweight,” said Skull. “You’d just be a lot more thin if you didn’t eat so much.”

“Wha— HOW DARE YOU!”

“Hey, let’s not fight back there, you two,” Joker said, “or else Queen and I will turn this car around!”

“You may want to turn it around anyway,” Fox said… “I heard something.”

There was an ominous rattling chain noise.

“What?” Joker hadn’t been paying attention.

“Fox, what did you hear?” Queen asked.

“An ominous rattling—”

“Oh my, what is that creature?” Crow wondered. “It’s wearing a funny bag for a face. It reminds me of that living scarecrow from the fantasy story I once read as a child.”

Oracle freaked. “Queen! GAS! NOW!!!”

“AHHHHHH!!!!” the whole team, minus Crow, who looked confused, all screamed.

“What are you all yelling about— ah! We’re going very fast all of a sudden.”

“IT’S THAT MONSTER!” Panther yelled. “IT’S GOING TO KILL US ALL!”

“I see…” Crow was disturbingly amused.

“No!!” Queen said. “We got too involved in our chats again— AHHHHHH—” she let out a bloodcurdling scream. The Reaper was right in front of them, and it looked… it looked…

“Hold up,” Joker said suddenly. “Queen, stop Mona!”

“What?”

“Just do it!”

Queen stopped reluctantly. “Joker, are you trying to get us killed?!”

“I don’t think it’s going to hurt us,” Crow observed. “It appears to be sick.”

“SICK?!” Everyone yelled in disbelief. “That thing gets sick???” Skull said, incredulously.

“It… appears Crow is correct…” Fox determined.

The Reaper was a deep shade of purple and looked rather uninterested in fighting. “Whoa,” Mona said, “that’s right— it’s flu season! To think it would get that thing too…”

“I think that means we could defeat him…” Panther realized.

“Oh…” Queen understood now. “Alright then.”

“Let’s go!” Noir cried. “I’ll make that horrid creature beg for mercy! We’ll return the favor for all the fear it has instilled in us!!!”

The team all got out of the Mona bus, and swiftly defeated the ailed monster. Upon doing so, Joker felt an unusual surge of power coursing through him, and he sensed that his potential had grown immensely.

“Whoa!” said Skull. “That was easy! What a wimp— we didn’t do jack shit to that thing! It just… died!”

Noir cackled ecstatically. “We ruined that abomination! I’m glad we won, everyone!”

“What a strange defeat… It feels almost… anticlimactic.” Fox noted.

“You were all so afraid of this Shadow,” Crow recalled. “Your impression of it has changed so quickly. This is rather amusing.”

“It may reappear again,” Queen cautioned. “Do be careful, everyone.”

* * *

**11/15/2016 ☀ TuESDAY Evening FLu SeAsoN**  
**Days Until Execution: 5**  
**Trick Goro Akechi**  
**『Fake death in the interrogation room』**  
**『Discover mastermind's identity』**

Futaba and Akira were in the Leblanc attic discussing the plan. She had been working hard this past week, and was very tired after having had many sleepless nights. As they talked about their brilliant plot, Morgana sat nearby, watching them earnestly.

“This app,” Akira asked, “how will it work? How are you planning to deliver the messages you’ve prepared for Niijima, and send Niijima and Akechi in and out of the Metaverse?”

“Well,” Futaba said sleepily, “Niijima will come first, interrogate you, and leave. Given the closeness in time between their two scheduled chats with you, Akechi will surely be coming in about this time. She’ll show him the phone, and I’ll activate the app.

“As for leaving— I’ve done some testing. Unless the person using the app presses the button to navigate out, they’re automatically returned from the Metaverse to reality when they move from, and then return to, the point at which they came in.”

“I see…” said Akira, grinning.

“Now—” Futaba drew two overlapping lines on a piece of paper, and a couple of stick figures— one with a gun (Akechi), and one with a phone (Niijima Sae). She made an X to mark the midpoint where the two lines met. Then to the right, she drew a medium-sized O with a stick figure wearing glasses (Akira).

“This X is where they meet up,” she said, and traced a path to it from the O. “Niijima leaves the room after interrogating you,” she said, “and I—” she drew a little Alibaba caricature in the upper left corner— “will wait and listen in to their conversation. When the time is right and I hear her talking about the phone, I’ll push the button.”

Futaba traced Akechi’s line to the O, and Niijima’s line to the other side. “Akechi goes and ‘kills’ you. Meanwhile, Niijima keeps on going to the elevator. Now, she’ll be a good distance away from where she entered, and when she physically reaches that point, my app will use your phone’s gyroscope to detect her position and deploy my messages!”

“That’s… clever!” Akira was impressed. “What happens next? Keep going!”

“Akechi turns around and leaves the cognitive interrogation room, while Niijima listens to my messages. She should decide to help you and turn back to the room. Now, Akechi will have reentered the real world by this time,” she said, “and be about here,” Futaba drew a Y a little further left from the X.

“This point,” she indicated the Y proudly, “now this is really fun. Akechi will be in reality, Niijima in the Metaverse— and they’ll walk right past each other without even knowing it! Hahahaha…” Continuing on, she traced Niijima’s path on paper to the O again. “And then… your ride out of there has arrived!”

“So this is how I will be saved,” Akira grinned. This was more elaborate, impressive, and incredible than any move he could have ever come up with. _What a wonderful way to cheat this game._

“Yes…” Futaba said… “and all… thanks to my hard work…” she smiled at Akira and groaned… “sleepytime…”

Futaba stumbled over to Akira’s couch and collapsed. “Futaba!” Akira shook her by the shoulders. “Are you alright?” Futaba handed him his phone and was instantly out cold.

“Let’s let her sleep,” Morgana told him. “She hasn’t slept for days while she’s been getting that app ready.”

* * *

**11/17/2016 ☀ THuRSDAY Evening**  
**Days Until Execution: 3**  
**Trick Goro Akechi**  
**『Fake death in the interrogation room』**  
**『Discover mastermind's identity』**

 **_ The HIEROPHANT _ ** 

The calling card was to be delivered tomorrow, and the big day was the day after. As was often the case, Leblanc was empty of customers. Sojiro sat behind the counter watching the TV, which was blaring constant non-news about the non-capture of the Phantom Thieves.

“Sojiro,” said Akira, “I wanted to let you know something important.”

“What is it, Akira?” Sojiro asked.

“I got myself in a little bit of trouble,” Akira told him. Sojiro turned and looked at him sternly. “Akira… this is a Phantom Thieves thing, isn’t it?”

“Don’t worry,” Akira assured him. “It’ll be alright. I’ll come back— I promise.”

“Come back… ?” Sojiro looked genuinely concerned. “Akira— are you certain that whatever this is will work out for you?”

“Don’t freak out when you see the news.” Akira turned, leaving a baffled Sojiro in Leblanc, and left to go to Shujin.

* * *

_** The MOON ** _

“Akira!” Mishima was a little down. “The approval ratings on the Phan-site are lower than ever…”

“Mishima,” Akira told him, “don’t worry about it. We have a plan.”

Mishima’s face lit up with delight. “A plan… ?!” He was suddenly grinning excitedly.

“Keep telling Japan— no, hell, keep telling _the world_ — all about the Phantom Thieves, okay?” Mishima nodded. “I’ll let you in on a little secret— we’re being targeted by a sinister, unknown enemy.”

“Whoa!” Mishima was equal parts surprised and euphoric. “What are you going to do?”

“What do you think we’re going to do?” Akira smirked. “The Phantom Thieves are going to do what they always do. We’re going to fight back against this rotten society. So, Mishima, please, tell the whole world! Even if they don’t want to hear it, even if they deny us— Keep the Phan-site going!”

“You got it, Akira!” Mishima pumped his fist into the air. “Good luck!”

* * *

_** The TEMPERANCE ** _

“Kawakami-sensei!” called Akira urgently, walking up to the front of the room as class concluded. “I need to tell you something important.”

Kawakami turned around. “Kurusu-kun— Akira.” she said. “Is everything alright?”

“I have an important exam coming up,” Akira told her.

“Oh, are you taking extra classes or something?”

“The _same_ extra class,” Akira said cryptically. Kawakami immediately picked up the message. “You—”

“Yes,” said Akira, and he whispered, “this is an extremely important exam. You’ll hear that I got a bad grade, but trust me— I’ll come back strong.”

Kawakami nodded, now fully comprehending his meaning. “Don’t you fail, Akira,” she said. “As your teacher— I will never forgive you if you do. Good luck!”

* * *

_** The TOWER ** _

“Akira! Did you come to play a game?” Shinya asked.

“Actually, no,” Akira said. The Gigolo Arcade was mostly empty. “I wanted to tell you something. I’m gonna let you in on a little secret from the Phantom Thieves—”

Shinya sat in a chair next to him and listened attentively.

“The Phantom Thieves of Hearts are under attack,” Akira told him, “but we have a plan.”

“Whoa…” said Shinya, amazed. “Really?” Akira nodded enthusiastically. “You gonna be okay?”

“I’m gonna be okay,” Akira grinned. “We’re all gonna be okay. Everything will be totally fine. The Phantom Thieves are gonna win!”

“YEAH!” Shinya cheered. “Go get’ em!”

“You bet I will, Shinya!” Akira said. “You’re going to hear some crazy stuff about it, but don’t worry. We’re gonna be totally fine.”

* * *

_** The DEATH ** _

“Hello, Takemi-san!"

“Akira,” said Tae Takemi. “Are you here to get some medicine for your thief business?”

“Not today,” Akira said. “I wanted to let you know— this guinea pig is taking a sick leave.”

“A sick leave, huh?” Takemi seemed amused. “What kind of sick leave?”

“A very serious sick leave,” Akira told her. “You’ll know when you see it. I won’t be terribly sick though. Don’t be worried.”

Takemi narrowed her eyes at him. “All right. Well, as your doctor, I prescribe a healthy helping of good wishes, and common sense.” She winked. “Don’t you die on me, my little guinea pig.”

Akira chuckled and nodded.

* * *

_** The HANGED MAN ** _

“Hey, Iwai-san,” Akira greeted.

“Hey kid,” Munehisa Iwai replied. He was standing behind his desk, busily cleaning up. No one else was in the shop. “How ya doin’? Here to buy some guns for the Phantom Thieves?”

“Actually, no,” Akira said, “I came to tell you something.”

“Got yourself in a bit of a fight with someone?”

“Not yet. But I will.”

Iwai stopped cleaning and turned around, folding his arms. “How much trouble’s this guy?”

“Pretty big trouble,” Akira said, grinning. “But don’t worry, I got a plan. The guys who’re gonna land me in this trouble? You can bet this entire shop they’re gonna be in trouble too.”

“I wouldn’t take that bet,” Iwai smirked. “You’re sure you’ll get out of this trouble?”

“I’m absolutely certain,” said Akira. “We’re gonna kick ass. You’ll notice it when it happens, but don’t worry. Everything’s going to be fine.”

“Alright,” Iwai said, “well, don’t get yourself killed, ya got it?”

“You got it, Iwai-san.”

* * *

_** The SUN ** _

“Oh, Akira,” Toranosuke Yoshida said. “It’s good to see you. Have you come to watch my speech today?”

“I wish I could stay,” Akira said, “but there’s actually something I need to tell you.”

He looked around Shibuya station to ensure no one was listening or watching. “I have a really important speech I need to make to someone,” he told Yoshia quietly. “They’re a very important person, very hard to convince. I’ll be in a lot of trouble.”

“Oh? What are the circumstances surrounding this?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Akira assured him. “You’re going to hear a lot of stuff about it, but I’m fine. The Phantom Thieves have a plan.”

“A plan…” Yoshida was intrigued. “I look forward to seeing what comes of this, Akira.”

“Thanks!”

“Don’t forget to polish your speech!” Yoshida called out to Akira as he left.

* * *

_** The FORTUNE ** _

“Akira— did you come to get your fortune read?”

“Why, yes I did, Chihaya,” Akira grinned. Chihaya flipped her tarot cards and then gasped. “A— Akira!” she yelped in shock.

“The cards say… there is a terrible misfortune awaiting you… the day after tomorrow! The jail cell I mentioned when I first met you…”

“Don’t you worry, Chihaya,” Akira assured her. “I know how to oppose my fate.”

“You… you do?”

“Yeah. Don’t you worry. My future is secure.”

“Akira…” Chihaya wore an admiring expression. “Your confidence amazes me! I hope the cards turn in your favor.”

“They will,” Akira said, with deep conviction in his heart that he was correct. “I’ll see you again soon.”

* * *

_** The DEVIL ** _

“Ohya-san!” Akira said as he entered Crossroads.

“Hiiiiiii!” Ohya was drunk as usual. “Have you come to give me more info for my articles?”

“You bet,” said Akira, “the best info. And it comes from the future.”

“Ah, what’s going to happen in the future?” Ohya seemed very curious.

“A headline that goes something like this…” Akira thought for a moment. “‘PHANTOM THIEVES SET TO DEFEAT IMPOSSIBLE ODDS! Read all about their inevitable triumph on page… seven.’”

“Page seven?” Ohya wondered. “Why page seven? That sounds like a cover story!”

“Just being humble,” said Akira lightly. “Trust me, it’s gonna be one hell of a scoop.”

“Oh, yeah I bet!” Ohya said. “LALA! Get this kid a refill!”

“What are you talking about?” Lala Escargot wondered. “You’re too drunk. He didn’t even order anything to start with.”

Akira laughed, got a glass of water, thanked Lala and took his leave.

* * *

_** The STAR ** _

“Checkmate! I win!”

But it was not Hifumi who uttered those words— it was Akira.

"The Kurusu Castle has claimed its first victory at last!"

The former was utterly stunned.

“Akira… you beat me! You beat me at my own game!”

“Yes I did,” Akira said, beaming at her.

“You… you never won a game with me before!”

“You put up a good fight,” Akira told her, “befitting of a queen.”

At being called a queen, Hifumi smiled proudly. “Wonderful,” said Hifumi. “You have been an excellent student, Akira. And… an excellent thief.”

“About that…” Akira began. Hifumi suddenly looked concerned. “Oh?”

“I found a cheating opponent,” Akira said, “like the one I hypothesised about before. It’s sort of like a duel to the death.”

Hifumi was stunned. “An opponent… of the Phantom Thieves? A duel to the death? Are you going to kill him?”

“No way,” Akira laughed. “I’m a gentleman. Gentlemen don’t kill. No— I’m going to cheat. They’re going to think they’ve won, but when they’re not looking… I’ll creep up behind them and strike back before they ever see it coming.”

“I see…” Hifumi grinned knowingly. “Best of luck to you, you wonderful thief.”

“You’ll hear that I lost the game,” Akira warned her. “Don’t believe it for a second. I’ll be back before you know it!”

Hifumi laughed. “I have faith in you, Akira. When we meet again— let us play another match. I want to make sure that your victory over me wasn’t a fluke.”

“I graciously accept that challenge.”

* * *

_** The JUSTICE ** _

"Good day, Akira!" Akechi's familiar voice rang through Akira's ears, drawing the focus of his consciousness to his dream. "Or should I say, night?"

"I'd say at this point, there's not much difference," Akira supposed, shrugging.

Akechi laughed jovially, then took a sip of coffee. "Indeed that may be! Whatever the case, we are facing a great challenge soon, are we not? You and I, and your merry team of rogues?"

"Yeah," Akira agreed. "Won't that be Niijima's Shadow? She's been quite conniving the whole way through."

"Indeed, that is certainly one enemy we will have to overcome," Akechi nodded, glad that Akira seemed to understand. "But there is yet a greater foe beyond. It could be that we will be confronted by the true culprit."

"The one behind the mental shutdowns?"

"Right on point, my friend!" Akechi grinned slyly. "If my deductions are correct, I can only imagine that this culprit will make a move of some sort, in an attempt to stop us!"

"How do you think that'll happen?" Akira asked, smirking as he granted Akechi the courtesy of humoring him and his lies. "Perhaps he might come to fight us?"

"That is certainly a possibility. But I think that is unlikely. It seems more possible that our enemy will send a proxy of some sort, or place us in some sort of complex circumstance in which we are at an extreme disadvantage." Akechi took a sip of his coffee, before continuing. "I am certain that, one way or another, his goal will be to take our lives. I do not think that such a ruthless villain would allow our interference to continue."

"Yes," Akira bowed his head in agreement. "I am also anticipating such a coup. We shall have to remain on our toes, Crow. I am quite certain that whoever our opponent is, he will not give up easily. But I am sure that if you and I employ the skills that we have so expertly used against each other throughout our game thus far, outwitting him shall be a simple matter."

"Indeed that may be." Akechi grinned proudly at Akira. "Now that our game has ended, and the Phantom Thieves will soon be disbanded as well, I have one last thing I would like to say to you, Joker."

"And what would that be?"

"Thank you, for keeping me engaged and surprised throughout our great chase," Akechi smiled, chuckling at all the memories. "You've been a wonderful opponent. I never imagined that it would culminate this way— our cooperation."

Akira laughed. "Thank you as well, Akechi, for giving me such a worthy challenge." He offered his hand, and Akechi shook it.

"Well, soon enough we shall part ways, Akira," Akechi assured him, smiling. "Until we meet again!"

"Yeah." The widest, most spectacular Joker smirk was plastered across Akira's face.

Little did Akechi know, he was going to be played for a fool. Their game would end, yes. But not without one last trick. The greatest move he had ever pulled off. And it would be truly stylish.

* * *

**11/19/2016 ☀  SATuRDaY After School**  
**Days Until Execution: 1**  
**Trick Goro Akechi**  
**『Fake death in the interrogation room』**  
**『Discover mastermind's identity』**

Today was the big day.

Akira had cheated. This was supposed to be a one-on-one duel with Akechi— but Akechi was clearly not alone. So neither was he. Akira had his team and all his friends playing now. They were all rooting for him. Not only was he going to win— they were all going to win.

_“It’s showtime!”_

* * *

“Sis!”

“That’s only a Shadow,” Crow was quick to point out, “Why are you so—”

_Insensitive as usual, you bastard._

“Quiet!” Panther hissed, shutting him up— which Joker was very thankful for.

“... Sorry.” Crow said. His apology carried little weight, however— Joker knew it meant absolutely nothing.

“We’ll go grab the Treasure,” Skull said. He and Fox rushed off to grab what Joker and all his team knew to be only the fake Treasure, stashed away in the safe room.

* * *

“Please… You have to think back to the feelings you had when you first wanted to be a prosecutor.” Queen sensed little practical point in this, since Akira was going to convince Sae in reality anyway— but it somehow seemed like the right thing to say. “Think about your justice, Sis.”

“My… justice…”

“Try to remember how you used to be,” Queen went on.

“How… I…”

“Niijima-san… she’s just like my father…” Haru said quietly. “What caused them to change like this?”

“Hm… even though their own desires were the cause, succumbing to such distorted thoughts is strange—”

* * *

“Is there another reason they don’t know of?” Crow went on.

 _You’re sure as hell one to talk._ Joker thought.

“We found it!” Fox called. He and Skull rushed over with the briefcase. Joker lightly smiled. _Smooth._

Crow continued his act. “The investigation will be able to continue on now, and the suspicions against you will be lifted. This deal we made…” he said, turning to Akira, smiling, “was a great experience for me.”

Akira suddenly sensed that perhaps Akechi meant that— even if its true meaning was not the way he had intended it to be taken. “Me too,” he said kindly, shaking hands with him.

“To think that I, a detective, would act alongside the Phantom Thieves…” Crow continued, bemused.

“Well,” said Akira, “yeah, was fun, eh? Back to your real work, I guess.”

“Haha, yes, indeed,” Akechi agreed, “and you shall end this Phantom Thieves business.”

“Alright, we can’t stay here any longer,” Morgana said, “we gotta go!”

“All right,” Makoto said, “let’s go, then!”

_Cue Futaba…_

“Huh?! Enemy readings! When did they… ?! They’re gathering outside!!!”

_Your line, Ryuji._

“The hell?? What’s goin’ on?!!”

_To you, Yusuke…_

“Look at those numbers…”

_Ann, keep it short and sweet._

“This doesn’t look good…”

_You’re up, Morgana._

“We defeated the Palace ruler and even stole the Treasure, yet the Shadows are still restless! It doesn’t make any sense— what’s going on here?”

_The script calls yet again for an Oracle…_

“There are more coming?! This’ll be dangerous if we don’t do something… !!! Huh…?

_Morgana gets to steal the spotlight again…_

“We need to go now! Those guys in black suits are almost here. We’ll be done for if we get surrounded!”

_This line was written especially for you, My Queen…_

“A team this large would be discovered immediately. We had best split up for our escape… Although, we’ll need someone to act as a decoy— no. That’s too dangerous.

_And now, we return to myself, the Joker who wrote this wonderful production._

“Go, everyone! I’ll get the Treasure out of here!”

“What— Joker?!” Queen yelped, feigning surprise. “Are you going to distract them all by yourself?!!”

“Let him do it, Queen,” Skull said. “Once Joker’s mind is made up, he ain’t gonna take no for an answer.” Skull handed him the false Treasure. “I’m sure you ain’t gonna die. This is you we’re talkin’ about here!”

“Please don’t do anything reckless, okay?” Noir urged him. _This wasn’t in the script…_

“I’ll never forgive you if you don’t make it back!”

_I forgot to write lines like this. Good job ad-libbing, team._

“We still haven’t fulfilled our deal, remember?” Mona reminded him.

_That’s true, there’ll be a lot of disappointment if I mess up… lots of deals to make good on…_

“Even more are coming!” Oracle shouted.

“This truly is a painfully reluctant parting…” Fox said.

“Yes, it seems we had best hurry,” Crow assented.

_YOU WEREN’T IN THE SCRIPT. SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH._

“Got it!” Joker turned and started to run away.

But as he did so, his Queen grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him around. “WAIT!”

She embraced him and looked into his eyes, while the rest of the team watched from afar.

“Queen,” shouted Oracle, “hurry this up!”

“Joker,” said Queen, “you really think I’d let my boyfriend go without a kiss goodbye?” She kissed him lightly on the cheek, and he was dumbfounded.

_Also not in the script… but I don’t mind._

“Go!” she urged him. “We’ll see you later. Don't you lose, Joker!”

* * *

_SWOOSH_

Everyone below in the casino was panicking. _Why are they freaking out so much_ , Joker wondered. _They’re just a bunch of regular ol’ cognitive folks._

_SWOOSH_

“There— there’s something here!” said one of the cognitions below.

_SWOOSH_

Joker landed on one of the ceiling fixtures, displaying himself to the crowd of frightened cognitions theatrically. “Hi… nice to meet you all!” he called out to the cognitions tauntingly. “My name’s Joker, busy running for my life here, stealing a briefcase… My apologies for inconveniencing you all, etc etc… Oh? Some guys trying to capture and/or kill me, you say? Yeah, that’s just business.

“On behalf of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, I hope you have a wonderful evening. _GOODBYE, SUCKERS!_ ”

"

Joker leaped from one rafter to the next, and then, pulling out his mp3 player, pressed _**[p LaY ▻](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgV9w9pHiTE)**_

What could he say? He had to get himself in the mood!

* * *

**11/19/2016 ☀  SATuRDaY Evening**  
**Trick Goro Akechi**  
**『Stage escape attempt』**  
**『Get arrested』**

“Don’t worry about us. Just concentrate on getting away!” Morgana yelled in his ear.

As the team continued chattering in his ear about where they were going and what to do next, the stylized English lyrics rang through his head… a single earbud planted in his right ear, Futaba’s special communication earpiece in his left.

 ** _iT’ S nOt A gAME_**  
**_I’m n ot A rOBot ai_**  
_**CHALLENGING YOU!**_

“I WON’T LET THEM ESCAPE!”

 ** _i’M N ot A phaNtom_**  
**_I’ m iN youR fACe aND,_**  
**_I’M HERE TO SEE IT THROUGH_**

“Just run! Get out of there!”

Joker was met by a horde of enemies along the way, and, pulling off a Shadow’s mask, charged into battle!

_“TAKE ‘EM DOWN, JOKER!”_

**_SO YOU KNOW THAT WE’RE OUT THERE_**  
**_SWAT TING LIES IN THE MAKING_**  
**_CAN’T GO FAST WITHOUT BREAKING_**  
**_CAN’T HOLD ON OR LIFE WON’T CHANGE!_**

Defeating the enemies swiftly, Joker leaped away from the reinforcements spectacularly, and up onto another floor, straight over a bright neon sign that repeatedly serialized a single message:

 **VICTORY**  
**OR**  
**DEFEAT**

 ** _AND OUR VOICES RING OUT YEAH_**  
**_TOOK THE MASK OFF TO FEEL FREE_**  
**_FOUGHT IT OUT IN THE DEBRIS_**  
**_NOW WE KNOW THAT LIFE WILL CHANGE!_**

 _Victory, indeed._ The ever-victorious Joker turned and ran through the door behind him.

* * *

**_aIn’ t iT a sHAme_**  
**_i’m n OT A fiGMenT Of_**  
**_yo UR AilInG oLD mInd_**

“I can’t confirm the intruder’s location!”

 ** _i’M J usT aS ReAl aS_**  
**_I'm j USt As dANgerOus_ **  
**_AS YOU WILL SOON FIND!_**

Hiding himself from the security guard he henceforth encountered, he dashed up the stairs and made his way to the other wing of the Palace.

* * *

_“You’re surrounded! There’s nowhere to run!”_

_Was there, eh?_

What if he actually managed to escape, he wondered? What would happen then? Well, he wasn’t supposed to, but— suppose the police slacked off on their jobs? That would be super lame, actually… and pretty disappointing. Joker didn’t want that to happen. It would be no fun.

“After the commotion, the bottom floor’s completely closed off… can you make it?”

Well, whatever. _I must be going now._

He leaped up and over the railing, and, running agilely across the edge, made his way across the hall and to the window.

“See ya!” Joker yelled at his dumbstruck pursuers. And with that, he jumped out of the tall stained glass window which lined the other side of the room, breaking it into a million tiny pieces.

“... You’re so reckless, you know that?”

“Yeah,” Joker replied, “it’s in my blood.”

Joker gracefully fell several stories, in a fall that would normally have broken every bone in his body. Thankfully, it was the Metaverse. Normal laws of physics did not necessarily apply in this world, naturally, and he was unscathed upon landing.

_Now for the grand finale of this superb production…_

Joker stood up, looking towards the police.

“Enemies here… these readings… it can’t be…” The team talked in panicked voices for a solid ten seconds or so. The performance was truly phenomenal.

 _Seriously, everyone,_ Joker thought, smugly. _I’m proud of you all. You did an excellent job fooling that idiot._

* * *

“You were **sold out.** ”

_Heh. That’s old news. Come on, tell me something cool._

It took all of Joker’s willpower to not say something clever to the police officers who had apprehended him. It was a shame, too, cause after all this hard work, and success thus far— he deserved the chance to show off a little. He supposed he would have to save it for later. For now, though, he was satisfied.

_Check._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Mac was able to suggest some stuff for spicing this one up. The idea for the "execution." Double meaning. Execution of the plan, execution of Akira. Yeah! And also I am awake! I have been awake for like... nearly TWENTY FUCKING HOURS OKAY! I'm sorry! But I work really hard to bring you all this shit even when no one asks me to because I really really do care about this story, and making it the best it can be, with all my heart, okay? I mean. Not all of those hours were spent writing this, mostly real life shit. But still!
> 
> I've also got another fic in the pipeline for another fandom and a few other ideas and other stuff and I'm trying to work through all of this and forcing it to fight with life as a foreign exchange college student blablabla. Because I really really really want to do this kind of shit for a living and I'm trying SO DAMN HARD to make myself better at telling stories. This is probably the only thing I ever want to do, because what the fuck else am I good at?!
> 
> Okay, that said, I really need someone, _anyone,_ to tell me if all my coloring shit is good. Because I just put in like hours upon hours of time trying to make this the best visual experience possible with whatever cheap little CSS I know and I could have just published the story without doing any of that. I find it fun to do, but like, it's hard, it's time-consuming, and if people don't like it or just find it to be an eyesore— I'm not gonna do it! So, please, if you like or dislike the way I've been playing with the colors and trying to make the Phantom Thieves sing, please tell me and please tell me why, and if I could improve it, or if I should just drop it.
> 
> Thank you very much for reading my story and I love you forever for it, okay. I hope you keep reading.


	14. 20XX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was for sure the darkest chapter in the original version of the story. Now with even more angst!
> 
> In case you don't know what to expect, I'm gonna shut up now.

**??/??/20XX**

Akira could no longer recall what he had wanted to say to the police. For that matter, he couldn’t recall very much at all. All Akira remembered for certain was just that. Akira. Akira Kurusu.

_ “That is your name… yes?” _

“N-no…” Akira said slowly, looking up into the eyes of the man with weak defiance. His eyes were drawn to the clipboard in front of him, and he stared at it a moment.  _ Confession. _ He raised his arm and pushed it away, and it fell to the floor with an unceremonious clatter. “I’m not signing that crap.”

“I see… I need your hand to sign this, but…”

Akira didn’t see what exactly was happening, but he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his legs. He screamed, and through blurred, dizzy vision, saw the deviously grinning face of his torturer.

“I don’t care if you end up losing a leg!”

“Fi-fine,” Akira spat, the pain in his leg growing deeper and deeper, “I’ll do it! Please, stop! Stop!”

“Good,” the man in the suit said, releasing Akira as he picked the clipboard up off the floor and handing it back to him. He then released the pen tip with a  _ click _ , and handed it over, glaring at Akira. “Don’t expect to walk out of here in one piece.”

With no words, and the utmost reluctance, Akira committed the only sure thing he had left to paper.

He felt like he’d been here before. Even before he’d been here before, if that was possible. This was an important point in his destiny. And he certainly ought to remember a bit more than his name, but there was something blocking his thoughts…

* * *

“Well done on making it this far, inmate.” Caroline seemed quite pleased.

“Yes,” Justine agreed, “now that you have traversed your long, perilous recollection, you have truly entered the present.”

“The effects of that drug are gonna wear off soon.” Caroline gave him a cross, expectant look. “This is your golden opportunity. You must grasp the truth that will save you from the brink of ruin!”

Akira rubbed his head in confusion. “Why am I here? What’s this truth you’re talking about?”

“You remember?” Justine gave him a cold stare. “The evil influence who wishes you dead is fast approaching. The one whom you dreamed of, so many times?”

“Dreamed…” Akira shook his head. “This is a dream. This is all a dream…”

“Hahaha…” Igor seemed extremely amused. “So, you still doubt your memories? How strange. I have not seen this happen before. Not quite like this…”

“Master?” Caroline turned to Igor, appearing quite puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“What are you trying to imply when you say this has not happened before?” Justine asked, looking somewhat baffled. “Of what previous experience do you speak?”

“I think that this game has transpired in a manner quite… unusual,” Igor explained. “I am not certain of what has caused such an anomaly, but it would seem that this doubt which has been planted in your mind will soon cause your undoing…”

“What are you talking about?” Akira shouted at Igor. “Who the hell are you anyway?!”

“You see? That is precisely what I mean.”

“You say this place comes from my heart,” Akira snapped, exasperated at Igor’s crypticness, “but I’d never have dreamed up some long-nosed freak! Who and what are you?!”

“It seems that this little chat has become a senseless waste of my time,” Igor mused, seeming quite disappointed. “Girls, please return the prisoner to his world. Let us see if he is able to escape his dire predicament.”

“What?! I’m not through talking with you!” Akira shouted indignantly, as the Velvet Room faded away around him. “What’s going on?! Caroline! Justine! What’s the truth I’m missing?! Please!”

But it was too late…

Akira found his dream self disappearing into nothingness.

* * *

**11/20/20XX ☁ SuNDAY Daytime**  
**Days Until ???: ???**  
**???**  
** 「???」 **

“What a disappointing end to the hero of justice,” Sae Niijima remarked in a biting, unforgiving tone.

“Yeah,” Akira agreed with a scowl, chuckling softly. “My luck’s run out for good this time. What are you gonna do, Miss Prosecutor?”

Akira’s memory was far clearer than it had been, mere hours ago. It felt as if he were finally waking up… from a dream. A waking dream.

_ A dream. _

_ It was all a dream. _

_ That’d sure make this easy… _

There was something he was missing. He needed time to fully awaken…

“What am I going to do?” Niijima repeated, coldly, ever so slightly bemused by the question. “Well, Kurusu, I don’t know. I have trouble believing it, but, I now have a general idea of the methods you used for your crimes. There’s much more I’d like to ask, but, my allotted time is nearly up.”

** Escape... **

“Sae,” Akira pleaded, “you can’t leave yet. I’m forgetting something. I need time to remember…”

“I’m afraid you’ll have to remember it later. Time,” Niijima said, checking her watch, “is a luxury we no longer have.”

**_ 「time… ?」 _**

Akira was running out of time, to… right. He needed to do something. He needed to show something to Niijima. But what was it?

“I do have a suggestion, though. Care to strike a deal? If you cooperate with me, I’ll consider lightening your sentence.”

“A deal, huh?” Akira scowled at Niijima again. “What do you want?”

Sae spoke for a few moments, telling Akira about how his life would be ruined.  _ Life imprisonment or the death penalty. _ Etc etc… and listing off the names of the Phantom Thieves.

“Those are your accomplices in the Phantom Thieves, case, are they not?”

_** Escape... ** _

_ No… _ Akira wanted to say,  _ no, no they’re not. I won’t sell them out. I won’t tell you. I won’t I won’t I won’t… _

But what was coming for him, if he said no? What choice did he have? What was he…

_ No! This can’t be the right choice… _

_ It’s the only choice you have… _

** Days... _Days Until..._ **

Though every ounce of Akira’s spirit fought against it, he spoke the words, two utterly damning, ruining, hopeless words:

“That’s right.”

And as he realized what he had just done, his heart began to fall…

_ NO! _

**_ Days Until Execution: _ **

Sae’s eyes widened in surprise. “As I thought… You’ve made a wise choice. Thank you. I’ll do my best with what you’ve told me.” She stood up and began to leave.

And then, suddenly, too late, a minute too late, Akira began to recall—  _ it's not **20XX** — it's 2016.  _ **_2016._ **

**11/20/2016 ☁ SuNDAY Daytime**  
**Days Until Execution: 0**  
**Escape...**  
** 「Show Sae Niijima—」 **

_ The phone. _

“WAIT!” he shouted, “Sae! Stop! STOP! I didn’t mean that! I was lying— I remembered wrong—”

“What?” Sae turned around. “Are you trying to trick me?!”

“No! Don’t go, don’t—  _ please!  _ The phone. THE PHONE!”

“What are you yammering about??!”

_ This place… _

** 「Escape the interrogation room」 **

“This place! This place is— it’s important!”

“This place? You mean… the interrogation room? Why are you saying such silly things?!”

** Trick Goro Akechi **

“You need to show the phone to the true culprit! The one who sold us out! Please—  _please believe me—"_

** 「Discover mastermind's identity」 **

"They’ll all be killed by the enemy! Your sister will die!"

“My sister… SHUT UP!!!” Sae screamed at him, standing up and raising her voice at him.  **_“YOU CONFESSED TO YOUR CRIMES AND IMPLICATED YOUR ACCOMPLICES! YOU WILL ALL BE BROUGHT TO JUSTICE!”_ **

“This…” Akira lowered his voice to but a whisper. “Sae…"

** 「Persuade Sae Niijima」 **

"This is not justice… please don’t do this… you know the truth now. They’ll kill you… they’ll kill all of us… they’ll kill Makoto… you have to understand… please believe...”

 ** _“I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO BELIEVE ANYMORE!”_** shrieked the prosecutor in a tone not dissimilar to a child throwing a temper tantrum. **_“I HAVE HAD ENOUGH! I HAVE SOLVED THIS CASE! I NEED TO WIN! I NEED…”_** And then she fell quiet.

Breathing hard, she looked Akira hard in the eyes. “Akira… I… I don’t know what to do… but this is driving me mad. I can’t stay in this room much longer. I’m sorry.” She turned and left. “Akechi is coming to interrogate you next. Perhaps you’ll have better luck with him.”

_ Akechi… NO!!! _

Niijima exited the interrogation room and slammed the door behind her.

Akira couldn’t believe it. He had been foolish. His memories had been corrupted by the mysterious entity. He had allowed himself to give in… he had lost the game…

The Phantom Thieves were finished. Now completely helpless, Akira awaited Akechi’s arrival restlessly. He did not have to wait long.

* * *

“Huh— what’re you— !?!”

Two silenced pistol shots rang through the room, and the guard dropped dead to the floor.

“I owe you for all of this… thanks.” Akechi’s lips curled into a soft, smug smile. “That’s right. You and your little friends were vital to our plan. And now, it will be completed.”

_ I fucked this one up… _

Akechi chuckled malevolently. He tightened his gloves and adjusted his pistol. “Have you finally pieced it all together?”

“You… bastard…” Akira said weakly. “I pieced this together a long time ago…”

He looked at Akechi defiantly.

_ Maybe I can convince him to change his mind… no. No. I can only do that to good people. Niijima Sae was our only hope… I squandered that opportunity. _

“Oh…” Akechi grinned. “So you have?”

“Pancakes.” Akira glared at him. “You were a fool. It was Morgana who said ‘pancakes,’ and you shouldn’t have been able to hear him.”

“Pancakes? Ah… the TV station,” Akechi recalled, laughing dryly. “You’re right. That was a silly mistake of me to make. But I still made it here! In the end, it doesn’t matter not one bit how many times your little cat said pancakes.”

“Your mother,” Akira went on, trying to stall for time. “Was that a lie?”

“It was the truth by other means,” Akechi said. “An outright lie can never properly deceive.”

“NO!” Akira yelled, “it was a lie! We knew it was you! We knew it was you the whole time! We bugged your phone! We planned my escape!”

“An escape plan? Bug?” Akechi cackled, greatly amused by this revelation. “Ah… when Isshiki’s daughter… I see. You are all very clever. But not clever enough, sadly. Now…” he raised the pistol to Akira’s forehead.

_ You know what… fuck it. I have to try. _

“Do you remember the coffee cup?”

* * *

Akechi’s hand trembled hesitantly.  _ The coffee cup? _

“That was just a coffee cup. A physical manifestation of a simple, inconsequential unconscious thought withdrawn from your dream.”

“But it meant something to you,” Akira told him. “I didn’t trust you in the slightest— but I knew… I knew that your offer of that gift was genuine, that the meaning behind it was true. You think of me as a friendly rival— perhaps even a good, even your best, friend…”

“I—” Akechi couldn’t believe it.  _ Kurusu Akira? A friend?  _ It couldn’t be true… that had been a lie. He had simply been manipulating a target. It was part of the job… was it?

* * *

Futaba was sweating bullets. She was sitting in the unused soundproof interrogation room, her fingers hovering frozen over the keyboard.

There was an empty chair and some rope sitting nearby. It had been intended for trapping Sae Niijima’s cognitive Akechi, but that was no longer necessary. None of the Phantom Thieves had expected this, and they were not able to comprehend what was happening.

“It should’ve worked!” Futaba gaped, stunned. “It should have— it should have!”

“Akira… no! What happened!” Makoto was sobbing into her hands.

“This… this can’t be!” Ann was utterly shocked.

“Akira— Akira was drugged— he didn’t remember?” Haru cried in disbelief. “No…”

“You gotta be shittin’ me!” Ryuji yelled. “This— this isn’t happening!”

“I don’t believe it!” Yusuke said. “It… this… this happened? Is this a dream? Please let me wake up if so…”

“You… you guys…” Morgana was appalled and greatly upset. “I don’t… I can’t… I can’t see this… this isn’t happening!”

Akira and Akechi’s voices came through to them over Futaba’s laptop, broadcast from Akira’s phone:

_ “You don’t want to kill me. You don’t want to kill anyone—” _

* * *

“Least of all me, and all my friends!” Akira asserted with conviction. “And Niijima-san… you don’t want to kill her, or her sister!”

“That— that’s not—”  _ No, no no no I won’t let him corrupt me, I won’t let him change me— I won’t let him free my heart! _

“We heard the voice ordering you to commit this hit,” Akira’s voice grew more and more desperate. “You’re a puppet, Akechi! You can’t like this horrible person anymore than we do! You believe in your justice! You can— you can help us. You can save yourself! You— you— you can sa—”

**bang**

**dripdrip**

**splat.**

* * *

**** Akira couldn’t believe it— Akechi had killed him— Akechi had killed him— he was dead— these were his last thoughts…

_ I’m sweating blood again… _

* * *

The sound rang like a drum through the ears of the horrified Phantom Thieves. Makoto screamed.  _ “AKIRA!!!” _

“Mako-chan!” Haru said. “Mako-chan…”

“I… I never got to say…” Makoto sobbed into Haru’s shoulders.

And then, suddenly, the Phantom Thieves all heard the collective voice of all their Personas together…

_ We are very disappointed in you… followers of the Trickster. _

_ With the demise of the Fool, our contracts cannot continue. Here, our cooperation will end, as we mutually terminate our vows… _

A blue light rose from all of them, and then vanished… something had left.

“The hell was that?!” Ryuji shouted.

“Our… our Personas…” Ann realized. “We’ve lost our Personas!”

Futaba looked at her phone and gasped. “The Nav— it’s gone!”

Yusuke was dumbfounded. “Is this because Akira was killed… no!”

“We…” Makoto wiped the tears from her eyes. “The police… what are we going to do?”

“You all need to run!” Morgana meowed urgently. “They’ll all be after you now! The police… Akechi… our enemy… you need to get away from this place! Please! Run!”

* * *

**11/20/2016 ☁ SuNDAY Daytime**  
**Days Until Shido's Election: 28**  
**Pretend to help Shido**  
**『Leave the police station』**  
**『Kill the remaining Phantom Thieves』**

“Shido-san, my job is complete,” Akechi said crisply into his phone as he awaited the arrival of the elevator out of the underground interrogation chambers.

_ “I’ve told you not to call me by name!” _ the heavily-processed voice of Masayoshi Shido shot back, agitated.  _ “Regardless, all that’s left is to deal with the remnants.” _

Akechi shrugged. He should have known better, since that was the whole point of Shido using the voice processor— so that should anyone happen to be listening in, they would be unable to discern his identity. But Akechi considered that to be extremely unlikely, especially since the only person who had ever been able to tap his phone— Wakaba Isshiki’s daughter —was not in a position to act, should she discover a record of this conversation.

Right then, Akechi decided to not inform Shido that the Phantom Thieves had only just failed to trick him and foil the plan. It was now irrelevant, and the information would not be of benefit to either of them.

“The continued deaths of these teenagers would be a bit much, don’t you think?” Akechi commented as he continued waiting, wondering why the elevator was taking so long to arrive. “I considered making it appear that they had a falling-out… but that would only amplify public frenzy. It would be best to have each of them meet with an unfortunate accident after the storm blows over.”

_ “No.” _

“I’m sorry?”

Shido’s processed voice was sharp and insistent.  _ “There is no need to wait. Do not waste any time, and eliminate them as soon as possible. As long as they are alive, they pose a threat to my success.” _

“But, Shi-sir,” Akechi hastily caught himself, not wanting Shido to lecture him again, “why not hold off until—”

_ “I shall be counting on you to do as I have asked,” _ Shido said curtly.  _ “Please inform me once it is done. I shall ensure that the deaths are dealt with and covered up appropriately.” _ With that, the future Prime Minister hung up.

Akechi sighed, thoroughly annoyed, remembering what Akira had said.

_ A puppet. _

It didn’t matter. It was a necessary position, to get to Shido. He would just have to play along till the end.

The elevator doors opened at last with a  _ ding, _ and Akechi entered, tightening his gloves and gently cleaning away what little of Akira’s blood had found its way onto them with a microfiber cloth.

* * *

**11/21/2016 ☀ MoNDAY Daytime**  
**『Be an honest student council president』**  
**『Mourn Akira's death』**

“So, what should I be writing in the newspaper about the Student Council this week?” the bespectacled girl asked. “Dekishi-san’s been going on and on about the prices of bread.”

The Newspaper Club Member, the only member of the Newspaper Club, and Makoto Niijima, the Student Council President, were sitting alone together inside the student council room. The journalist was supposed to be interviewing the president, as was customary for the Newspaper Club to do once a week.

However, Makoto Niijima was unusually quiet, and the interview was not proving very productive. The Newspaper Club Member, meanwhile, was busily writing in a small notebook, alternating between the use of her left and right hands to wield the pen.

“The bread’s fine as is,” Makoto replied in a dull, unenthused monotone. “I’m not sure why Dekishi is so obsessed with it. There are much more important tasks for the Student Council to concern ourselves with.”

The Newspaper Club Member narrowed her eyes. Makoto was usually more specific than this. “Like what, Niijima-senpai?”

Makoto gave the young school journalist a tired and wholly defeated look. “I don’t know, Newspaper-chan. You’re the head of the Newspaper Club, right? You should be smart enough to answer that question on your own. Why don’t you just go do some research and figure it out?”

The girl looked quite concerned.

“Niijima-senpai, are you alright? I’ve never seen you dismiss me like this before.”

Makoto sighed. Her eyes betrayed deep distress, masked behind a blank, aimless look laced across her face. “Just exhausted. My sister’s been busy. We have final exams coming up here. It’s all been quite hectic.”

Newspaper Girl nodded, pretending to understand. “I see.”

However, being such an observant journalist, she knew better. It was quite clear that there was more to the situation than that. But Newspaper Girl could tell that Makoto was upset, and it would be best not to pry.

Makoto knew what was coming. She had only just managed to escape from the previous day’s events. After Akira’s apparent suicide, the police station had been scoured for any accomplices, and escaping without the benefit of the Metaverse Navigator had been a veritable nightmare.

Upon arriving home, Sae had acted normal. Or rather, as normal as she could get. But Makoto knew her sister too well. She had been distressed. In shock. She believed that her baby sister was a scoundrel. A criminal. A murderer.

Makoto wondered, would her big sis protect her, as she had previously imagined? Or would Sae prosecute her, the same as everyone else? Every other target?

“You know, Niijima-senpai,” Newspaper Girl spoke up quietly, “I think I understand what you’re going through, with your sister.”

Makoto sat up, straight and rigid as a board, surprised. “What?”

“I don’t have an older sister,” the bespectacled girl told Makoto, “but I do have a single mother. Your older sister is kind of like your mom, isn’t she?”

Makoto said nothing.

“Well, I just thought… Since your parents are both dead…”

“They are.” Makoto’s face was stone cold. She really didn’t want to talk about all this.

“Well, my mother’s extremely overprotective, and a total slob, and a terrible cook,” Newspaper Girl explained. “I think she really does want the best for me, but she just ends up holding me back and keeping me from what’s most important to me. And ever since what happened—”

There was a sudden knock at the door of the student council room. Newspaper Girl’s head jerked to face the door, but Makoto kept her head down and ignored it.

“What were you saying?” Makoto asked. “What happened to your mom?”

“Um, Niijima-senpai… shouldn’t you answer that?”

An unseen hand shook the locked door.

“No, it’s not important.”

_ “OPEN UP!” _ shouted a deep, forceful voice.  _ “WE HAVE AN ARREST WARRANT FOR MAKOTO NIIJIMA! OPEN THIS DOOR AT ONCE OR WE SHALL BE REQUIRED TO OPEN IT BY FORCE!” _

“Um, Niijima, that sounds pretty important— wait,  _ WHAT?” _ Newspaper Girl gasped in disbelief. “What the hell are they talking about? Why are they arresting you?”

Makoto was quiet for a moment. She scowled, and began to silently cry.

“Because…”

_ “MAKOTO NIIJIMA IS WANTED FOR BLACKMAIL, MURDER, AND IS SUSPECTED OF BEING A PHANTOM THIEF,” _ the deep voice boomed, banging on the door again.  _ “IF SOMEONE ELSE IS IN THIS ROOM, TURN HER OVER AT ONCE!” _

Newspaper Girl’s shock and awe only grew at hearing those words. The movements of her hands became more energetic, and she began to write ever so more quickly.

“Niijima-senpai… are you really a Phantom Thief?”

Makoto looked up, and stared at the wall, averting the young journalist’s eyes.

“… Yes. Well… I was.”

“Did you really kill people?”

Makoto gritted her teeth and clenched her fists furiously.  _ “No.” _

Newspaper Girl recoiled at this show of aggression. “I’m… sorry I asked that.”

_ “YOU HAVE TWENTY SECONDS TO OPEN THIS DOOR!” _

“I knew it! I knew they would never kill anyone! I swear! I just had to check…” Newspaper Girl whispered quietly. “So, Niijima-senpai… you can really change hearts?”

Makoto shot a glance at the door. “We have twenty seconds. Does it really matter?”

“Of course it matters! I need to know if you can—”

_ “FIFTEEN SECONDS!” _

“I’d say what’s more important is that you document what you’re about to see, Newspaper-chan,” Makoto suggested. “For the paper?”

“Uh, right, right…” Newspaper Girl hastily turned a page in her notebook, and began writing even faster. “But I really need to know! I need their help with something!”

“From the Phantom Thieves?” Makoto laughed. “I don’t think that—”

_ “TEN SECONDS!” _

“But Nii-Makoto,” Newspaper Girl corrected, desperately, “I need… well, I need to find out something from them! I need to ask them—”

“Ask them what? Ask away, Newspaper-chan. You’ve got… seven seconds? Six?”

_ “FIVE!... _

_ “FOUR!... _

_ “THREE!...” _

“I have to go,” Makoto said to Newspaper Girl apologetically. She turned to open the door.

_ “TWO!... _

_ “ONE!...” _

The door to the student council room clicked open, and Makoto held out her bare wrists in surrender.

“We have an arrest warrant for you,” a man in a black suit said, wrestling Makoto’s arms behind her back and handcuffing her. “The suspect’s testimony confirmed your involvement in this case.”

“Wait!” Newspaper Girl shouted, stepping forward to say something, but she was shoved to the floor by Makoto’s captors. Her glasses fell off and to the floor, and the man in the suit moved to crush them underfoot— but the quick-minded journalist snatched them away, and replaced them on her face, unscathed.

In reaction to the rescue of her eyewear, the man in the suit scowled, but did not pursue the aim any further. “You’d best stay out of this, you little brat!”

As the stone-faced Makoto was escorted from the student council room, Newspaper Girl came to her feet and replaced her glasses onto her face. As she did so, she quickly jotted something down into her notebook.

“The Phantom Thieves,” she murmured. “I wonder if they could… hmm, yeah… I should look into this.”

* * *

**11/22/2016 ☀ TuESDAY Daytime**  
**『Survive life as a stray cat』**  
**『Find food』**

Morgana was lost now. A lone stray. Just a simple cat… He had no Persona. He couldn’t do anything. He couldn’t help this world. He couldn’t save his friends— the people he belonged with. He’d left them behind… to try and protect them. They’d all agreed to stay away from each other, to make themselves harder to be found and manipulated. Keep themselves safe as long as possible.

It had barely been two days since Akira had died. Apparently, Makoto had been arrested, though the arrest of a second Phantom Thief hadn’t been reported on the news. Said news was instead constantly blaring stuff about some guy named Shido… who was he? He seemed like a total phony. What was happening to this world? Morgana didn’t care about the world much, but he did care about the humans who lived in it. He cared about their dreams… their hope.

Why did such thoughts as these take hold of him so strongly? Because… because he hoped he was human. Because he hoped for the world to welcome him. And now here he was, just an unnoticed, unwanted animal wandering the street. But, he was better than this… wasn’t he? Wasn’t anyone going to help him?

* * *

**11/22/2016 ☀ TuESDAY Daytime**  
**『Avoid Shujin』**  
**『Deal with mother's scrutiny』**

“Ryuji?” Otoha Sakamoto asked as Ryuji headed to the door of the apartment, expressing concern in her voice. “Where are you going?”

“I’m just… going out, Mom,” Ryuji answered nervously. “The weather’s nice today! I thought I’d go out and do a bit of running.”

“What have you been doing?” Otoha persisted, not buying Ryuji’s excuse. “Don’t try to deny it, Ryuji. I know you weren’t at school today! Or yesterday, for that matter! What are you up to?”

Ryuji sighed, averting eye contact with his mom.

Since Akira’s death and Makoto’s arrest, he and the others had decided to avoid going to Shujin. They’d considered going into hiding somewhere, but, there was really nowhere for them to flee to. They all had no choice but to try and carry on with their lives… but given the investigators’ focuses on Shujin, they all opted to skip school.

Luckily, since their identities hadn’t been publicly revealed, Kawakami was able to cover for their absences until they figured how to clear their names and save themselves. But with no Metaverse, Sae Niijima still on the side of the law, and it being impossible for them to safely meet, they were stuck with all staying at home, or keeping a low profile in public as best they could. No clues, and no paths to take. No way out of their situation. Soon enough, their enemy was going to eliminate them, and they were helpless to stop it.

And he… he’d had enough! Ryuji had just about had it up to here with all this crap! It made no fucking sense at all! He wanted to punch something. But he didn’t want to freak out his mom, so he simply stood there, rigid and contemplative…

Otoha looked quite frustrated with her son. “Ryuji, I just don’t know what to do with you… I-I guess I don’t care if you go to school or not. Fine. Just please… please don’t get mixed up in trouble…”

Ryuji nodded in acknowledgement. “I’m sorry, Mom.”

“Don’t apologize. Just go ahead,” she said tiredly, giving in and waving at the door to their small apartment. “Go wherever you were going.”

Ryuji turned and left, a guilty feeling rolling through him as he exited their home.

* * *

**11/22/2016 ☀ TuESDAY Daytime**  
**『Perform effective modeling』**  
**『Hide your true feelings』**

“Ann-chan!” the photo shoot director called out. “Can you try on this hat instead?”

They were in Shibuya, standing in close proximity to an active construction site, where they were extending the height of some tall condo. Ann couldn’t care less about it. It was really the last place she wanted to be at that moment.

“S-sure,” Ann replied slowly, taking the fancy hat in her hands. She put it on carefully and slowly, holding it at arm’s length, as though it were made of flames.

“Are you alright? You seem quite out of it today.”

“No, no!” Ann forced a smile. “I’m fine! I’ve just had a really difficult few weeks…”

“Alright, well,” the director assured her, “if you need a break, don’t hesitate to say so!”

“Sure.” Ann positioned herself in front of the camera, still maintaining her fake smile as best she could. She quite honestly wanted to do anything but modeling right now.

And yet it was the only thing she could do. It was what she— what her body —was made for… it was the only job she would ever have, that she would ever find worth doing. And with the Phantom Thieves having been defeated, and possessing no means with which to strike back against the unknown monster who had ordered Akira’s murder, what else was she supposed to do?

It was quite clear that the rest of them were coming next. How would she ever smile for the camera the same way again?

* * *

**11/22/2016 ☀ TuESDAY Daytime**  
**『Recover from slump』**  
**『Disregard suspicious offers』**

Yusuke had painted a very sad picture. It was a picture of a blob… of some sort. A black blob, surrounded by a splat of red in a white void.

It was a picture of Akira.

“What is this?” his art teacher wondered, coming over to take a look at the bizarre caricature. “Kitagawa-kun, are you alright? Your skills seem to be waning today.”

“I… I lost a friend…” Yusuke said slowly. “I don’t really feel quite myself today. May I take a break, sensei?”

The man nodded. “No worries. You have wonderful talents. I’m certain there’s no need to worry. And truthfully…” he eyed the portrait. “I sense deep… hopelessness in this. I quite like it. It’s different. Although, I doubt it would appeal to the tastes of most others…”

Yusuke smiled a little. “Thank you.” He stood up and left the studio, then headed off to a nearby cafe. It wasn’t every day that he spent money on food, but considering the circumstances, it seemed appropriate to treat himself to some coffee. He could no longer go to Leblanc— the cafe had been closed upon Akira’s death, and Sakura-san’s subsequent arrest.

As Yusuke sat in the cafe’s outdoor seating with his coffee, he mulled over his predicament. His paintings had become tainted with misery since Akira’s death. He sensed it would be a very long time before he recovered from this new and miserable slump— assuming he lived long enough.

* * *

**11/22/2016 ☀ TuESDAY Daytime**  
**『Hide inside room』**  
**『Wait for Youji Isshiki』**

Futaba was feeling sick.

When she’d come home to Yongen, Leblanc had been empty. Sojiro having been taken away. Closed, with a sign on the door claiming that it had been shut down for health violations. Which, Futaba knew full well, was a load of crap.

So, her Persona was gone, and she was now slowly sinking back into depression. Sojiro had been arrested, and her uncle was coming back to retake custody of her soon. Except, she was probably going to get arrested first once the police got their act together. Or killed by Akechi.

She remembered how awful it had been once, in this tiny room. It was her tomb… literally, even, in her Palace. Now? It was… her room. She had no intention of dying. She wanted to escape. She wanted to escape this madness.

Could she hack into Akechi’s phone or something and try to anticipate his actions? Perhaps escape his incoming attempt on her life? No… There wasn’t a chance. She had tried. His phone was too secure to access remotely. She would need to physically hold it…

What could she do? She remembered what she had said to the cognitive abomination that she had once believed was her mother— that she would live, no matter what. She would live. She would always move forward with her life.

What life was there to move forward with? She didn’t know, but she decided now was the time to find it. Futaba picked up her backpack, and began loading it with her most treasured belongings. She was running away. She was not letting her horrible uncle take her back. She was going to take back her world— or what remained of it, anyway. No matter what it took.

* * *

**11/22/2016 ☀ TuESDAY Daytime**  
**『Ponder Father's death』**  
**『Ignore Sugimura』**

Haru wasn’t sure what to do with herself now. She wasn’t famous, really, but her father had been quite so, enough that if word got out that she had been a Phantom Thief, she would be swarmed by paparazzi and such. So for now, she was staying in her private room at the Okumura Foods headquarters.

She stared out of the limousine, wondering— why was it hers now? Why did she have to take on such a heavy burden? What was so important about all this?  _ A teenage girl should never be entrusted with this much money _ , she thought.  _ It just doesn’t seem right. _

The news was talking about Akira’s history. It seemed they hadn’t yet received word of his death…

_ “Because of his previous record, he had to leave his hometown. Perhaps his motive lies there.” _

“I believe your father can rest in peace now,” Sugimura commented, smiling smugly as the newscaster continued talking. “That Phantom Thief could never have changed anything. Only a handful of people are qualified to change the world.”

“I-I suppose so…” Haru replied halfheartedly, trying not to provoke Sugimura into losing his temper.

Sugimura frowned. It appeared he was reflecting on his own comments. “Come to think of it, my father… hmm. If Eiichiro were still here, then…”

“U-um,” Haru asked, “what are you talking about? Who’s Eiichiro?”

“What? Oh, he’s nobody!” Sugimura said hastily, clearing his throat and waving his hand dismissively.

He was quiet for a few moments. Haru continued to watch the news broadcast, considering the circumstance further.

“So you’ve been coming home late,” Sugimura spoke up again, reaffirming his smug smile. “That’s what I’ve heard.”

Haru did not reply.

“I make a good playmate, you know.” Sugimura reached for Haru’s chin.

She gasped and recoiled away from him. “Please don’t—”

_ “Breaking news. The young man being held in custody has committed suicide…” _

Haru looked up at the TV set, barely reacting. Unsurprised. She knew this was coming, and their plan had failed, so there was no point in putting on a show in case she was being watched by the enemy.

Sugimura looked somewhat surprised, though quite nonchalant towards the news. “Whoa… wasn’t expecting that.”

The car stopped. “Oh… we’re back.” Sugimura got out of the car and walked towards the doors to Okumura HQ.

Haru reluctantly got out, and followed.

* * *

Morgana looked across the busy Tokyo street. There was some food on the other side, but no crosswalk in sight… No clear way to get to it. He needed it, though— he was hungry. It wasn’t much, but it was going to be the best he could get…

No cars seemed to be coming. Morgana decided to make a run for it.

But as he did so, he heard the faint hum of an engine, and—

**_thud_ **

The vehicle kept going. The driver had not even noticed the collision with the unfortunate animal.

* * *

The ground began to shake, and something rustling in the distance. Ryuji’s attention was drawn to a shrub in the distance.

“Hey! Who’s there?” he shouted. There was no response.

A small, thin projectile was propelled out of the bush and hit Ryuji square in the neck. He groaned and rubbed his neck, and then picked off the dart he’d been shot with.

_ Holy fuck. Is this— _ this couldn’t be. Had he just…

There was another rustling noise in the distance. Ryuji could only suppose that his assailant was making their escape. Which meant—

Suddenly, his heart began to beat very fast. Ryuji clutched his chest in pain, shocked. What was going on here? And then, his heartbeat steadily began to slow, and ultimately come to a stop— 

_ No! You gotta be messin’ with me! _

But no one was messing with him. He was gone. The blonde running boy toppled face first into the ground.

* * *

“ANN-CHAN!” screamed the photographer. “LOOK OUT!”

Ann looked up— there was a large crane above her head, carrying a large cargo of metal beams. She started to leap out the way, but there was no escaping the oncoming impact—

_ SMAKSHH! _

Only the hat survived.

* * *

He took a sip of coffee and breathed in the cool afternoon air.

Suddenly, a fire erupted in his stomach. Something was terribly wrong. Something… something was… burning his insides. His eyes jerked open in surprise. His coffee had been poisoned?

“So this… is my end…” he murmured, rather nonplussed by the thought. “What a bizarre scene.”

And with that, Yusuke dropped his coffee and the cup shattered upon the sidewalk. His head fell upon the table and remained immobile.

* * *

But as she made for the window, Futaba heard a spark from behind her desk.  _ What? Is that… oh no— but there’s nothing wrong with any of the wires or circuits— I would know! _

The flames began to spread… spread farther and farther, and soon, a small inferno was erupting in her room.  _ He sabotaged the electrics— no!!  _ Futaba attempted to open the window, but it was jammed shut. Soon enough, she collapsed, and was dead from the fumes within minutes.

The following morning, a colossal pile of ashes had taken the place of the Sakura house.

* * *

Haru walked upstairs and opened the door to the balcony, where her father had sometimes stood, looking out over Tokyo. No doubt he had been dreaming of how many Big Bang Burgers he would one day erect throughout the city. But Haru was simply here to reflect upon her past. What had gone wrong? Where?

Would she ever escape such an unfortunate status? She wanted none of this. Ever… It filled her with dread. Which would happen first— her company becoming bankrupt, or taken from her? Her arrest for being a Phantom Thief— for the murder of her own father? Or, would it be her death…

The question was answered swiftly as Haru was pushed from behind by an unseen figure, and, screaming, she fell…

_ Akechi! … How did he get in here… it doesn’t matter… he’s got me… _

**_SPLAT._ **

* * *

**12/12/2016 ☀ MoNDaY Evening**

Makoto sat quietly in the holding cell, awaiting judgement. It had been many days since she’d been arrested, and in the intervening period, she’d lost a significant amount of weight due to the low quality of the food. Her body was covered with bruises and scars.

Counting them would reveal the number of times Makoto had been abused. The same way Akira had been, before he died. She’d been hit, kicked, and injected with drugs too many times to count. They’d stopped, eventually, when they ultimately realized there was nothing they could do to make her talk. But that wasn’t counting the other times when they’d gotten… closer.

Makoto wasn’t certain why she hadn’t been tried yet. Not that it mattered. The law believed her to be a serial murderer, and to have committed a great many acts of treason against Japan’s government. She knew the ins and outs of the country’s legal system well, and thus, that it was useless to attempt to defend herself. Makoto was as good as dead.

This knowledge filled her with a terrible, inescapable sense of dread. One that she was now forced lived with every day, with no possible escape. And a sister, a sister even further away from her now, in whom she could never confide her fear.

Sae had only visited twice, and both times, had barely spoken to her in the few minutes she had been present. But it was enough for Makoto to see the disappointment in her eyes. Enough for Makoto to know that her sister was appalled. Shocked. Furious beyond words.

Her big sister being angry was always a sure bad thing.

Where were the others, she wondered? Makoto had heard nothing of their fates. Perhaps they’d been killed already, or arrested, as she had been. Perhaps they had escaped, or managed to find a way to go into hiding. Or perhaps…

There was a loud rattle at the cell door. Makoto looked up in surprise to see a guard standing there, busily turning the keys in the lock. And right next to him, was—

“Sis!”

Sae said nothing. Her expression was quite blank.

“You ought to be grateful,” the guard commented sharply. “Niijima’s decided to play your defense in a trial. You might actually have a chance to get your life back.” He entered, and took Makoto forcefully by the shoulders, handcuffing her and escorting her out of the cell. Sae followed, still not saying a single word. “I’d strongly suggest that you make the most of it.”

* * *

**12/13/2016 ☀ TuESDAY Afternoon**

Makoto’s first hearing had just ended. Everyone else had since filed out of the courtroom, leaving Sae and Makoto alone, while the former collected her belongings. Makoto was sweating. And not just because it was hot in the courthouse— although it quite was, due to the shoddy air conditioning. But Makoto didn’t feel much of the heat.

“Why did you do it?!” Sae demanded suddenly, surprising Makoto. “What was it all for?”

“Sis… I…”

“Were you really trying to change me? Brainwash me? Kill me?”

Makoto’s face was stone cold. “I already told you, Sis. Akira told you too, didn’t he? We were framed! We didn’t kill Okumura!”

Sae sighed in exasperation.

“If you would just  _ think _ for a second, and listen to me—”

_ “SHUT UP!” _ Sae shouted. Her face was distorted, twisted in anger.

Makoto instinctively took a step back, and winced as her freedom of motion was abruptly impeded by the tracking anklet which had been tightly applied to her left foot.

Her big sister looked disturbingly like the monstrous Shadow which they had faced only a short week ago.

_ “WHY?” _ Sae cried furiously. “I never imagined that you would do a thing like this, or that Shujin would have ever expelled you! You’ve ruined your future! You’ve ruined the both of us with what you’ve done! You can’t possibly imagine the lengths I’ve had to go to to keep my job! The things people are saying about me! Why did you get involved with those people?!”

“Sis! I… I had no choice! None of us did!”

“And Akira Kurusu!” Sae didn’t even take a breath. “That deranged, naive extremist, and not only were you conspiring with him, you were  _ dating _ him?!”

Wet, hot tears began to stream from Makoto’s eyes, mixing with her sweat. She began to choke out a response.

“Because… because he was honest!” she shouted at Sae, distressed even more so. “Because he was like you, before you destroyed yourself like this! Because he reminded me of Dad!”

“Reminded... you of…” Sae’s face turned red hot with anger, and her fists began to shake.

“You don’t know a  _ goddamn thing _ about what I was going through!” Makoto screamed at her sister, starting to lose her temper. “You’d never understand! You’ve become rotten and distorted and all you care about is  _ winning!” _

**_SLAP_ **

The right side of Makoto’s face began to sting, and she dropped to the floor, stunned. The manner in which she fell placed her in an uncomfortable position, and her ankle twisted, only causing further pain as the anklet dug deeper into her skin.

As Makoto slowly attempted to right herself, she touched her face, the pain almost surreal. Her mouth was open in shock at what had just happened.

Her sister had hit her.

“How  _ dare _ you talk back to me like that!” shrieked Sae. “You know nothing of me! You’re nothing but a naive, insolent child! Don’t you ever think of mentioning our father again! He was a fool!”

Makoto stared at Sae’s incredulous, distressed face, saying nothing. She’d never been really afraid of her sister before. It was a freshly frightening feeling.

Sae took a deep breath and turned away, refusing to meet her baby sister’s eyes.

“Let’s go home,” Sae said as she approached the door to the courtroom, not bothering to help Makoto off the floor. “This is unbelievable. We can’t even go out anywhere because of this nonsense…”

Ignoring her injuries, Makoto awkwardly stood up and reluctantly rushed to follow her sister.

* * *

As Makoto weakly trailed after Sae, she wondered what to do with herself. Now that what was to be done with her had been fixed in place, there wasn’t much more she  _ could _ do…

Except wait.

As she carefully walked down the hall, she heard a clatter and the unmistakable sound of glass shattering.

“Who’s there?!” Sae called out.

Makoto paid it no mind. She was sure that one of their neighbors had just broken a dish. It wasn’t important.

Forgetting the disturbance, Sae swiftly unlocked and opened the door.

Makoto followed her inside, and the both of them jumped in surprise when they saw what the source of the noise had been.

“Hello there,” the pleasant boy’s voice greeted casually. At his feet lay the broken shards of one of Sae’s flower vases. He smiled, kicking the pieces out of his way.

“W-what are you doing here?!” Sae shouted incredulously.

“I do apologize for breaking your vase, Sae-san,” Goro Akechi said, with an overdone smile and a tone deeply laced with false sincerity. “You have such a small home. Such clumsiness on my part was difficult to avoid. I’d offer to pay for a new one, but I don’t believe that will be necessary, considering the circumstances.”

“What circumstances?!” Sae’s voice was full of disbelief and confusion. “I-It doesn’t matter! Get out of here at once, or I’ll summon the police!”

Akechi chuckled, and withdrew a silenced pistol from his pocket.

“What are you doing with that gun?!”

“Get out of the way, Sis!” Makoto said urgently, pushing her sister aside and glaring at Akechi. “This has nothing to do with you! I won’t let him hurt you!”

“What? Hurt me?!” Sae gasped in shock. “Could it be…”

“You’re here to kill me, right?” Makoto inquired of Akechi. “Of course… you couldn’t get to me while I was in the police’s hands.”

“Naturally,” Akechi confirmed. “It would be far too conspicuous if two Phantom Thieves mysteriously died in the same manner while in the custody of the authorities. Someone would certainly take notice, and my employer would have a difficult time manufacturing a rationale for such a curious coincidence.”

“So I take it you’ve eliminated all the rest of us, then?” Makoto inferred, her voice growing more and more furious by the second.

“Indeed. Of course, you haven’t heard of it, since my employer’s covered up their disappearances. He’s got quite a lot of influence in the media.”

“No… no!” Sae suddenly cried, realizing her error. “No, it can’t be! I was wrong this whole time! Kurusu… Kurusu was telling the truth!”

“Oh, he tried to warn you, did he?”

“He did,” Makoto confirmed. “We heard all of it. If only he hadn’t been so far gone… we would have won! Sis would have shown you the phone, and we would have escaped!”

“Ah, I see,” Akechi chuckled. “It all makes sense now! So I was supposed to kill a cognitive Akira, while the real one survived!” He laughed for a good long time. “Yes, Akira told me about how I’d so foolishly betrayed my true intentions to you all, and overlooked your plotting against me. He was quite a crafty one, I’ll admit! Keeping me on my toes for so long! Indeed, if he hadn’t been drugged, you very well might have won! But all that is irrelevant now.”

“Yes, it is,” Makoto agreed, “especially now that you’ve  _ murdered him! _ ” She said those last two words with a deep level of loathing and contempt. “Fine then! Go on and kill me! I was going to die anyway! There was no hope of escape for me from all of this!”

“Oh, it’s my pleasure,” Akechi said deviously, drawing out every syllable in his usual, slimy, fake pleasant voice. He lifted his pistol, fired—

And Sae Niijima dropped to the floor, bleeding.

“SIS!” Makoto yelled, stunned at what her sister had just done. “Why did you do that?!”

“I won’t allow him to take your life!” Sae gasped painfully, clutching the bullet wound which had just then pierced her shoulder. She slowly stood up, wincing in pain as she attempted to stifle the bleeding. “You… you fraud… you  _ fiend!” _ she shouted venomously at Akechi. “So  _ you’re _ the true culprit Akira Kurusu spoke of!”

“You’re protecting your sister, eh?” Akechi stifled another laugh, quite amused. “I never thought that’d happen! So you two are finally mending your broken sisterly bond! Sadly, it’s too late for that.”

Still flinching as she bled, Sae reached out and swiftly disarmed Akechi, then grabbed him by the shoulder with one hand, holding the pistol to his head with the other. “Don’t you make a move,” she hissed at him. “I  _ will _ kill you, if it means saving Makoto!”

“Hm.” Akechi smirked.

“Who is this employer you speak of?” Sae yelled. “Who put you up to this?!”

“That’s not your concern.”

“You bastard!” Makoto interjected furiously. “I’ve just about had it up to here with your games! You’ve killed my boyfriend! You’ve killed all my friends! You’ve killed dozens of others by mental shutdown! The least you could do is  _ answer my sister!” _

Akechi shrugged, at least insofar as he could while being held fast against the wall by Sae. “Oh, well, I suppose it makes little difference. My employer is Masayoshi Shido.”

“Shido?!” Sae’s face suddenly lit up in great disbelief as she put all the pieces together. “The man running for Prime Minister? Then the mental shutdowns… and that subway accident… It was all… all to clear the way for himself!”

“A man like that soon coming into power?!” Makoto let out a squeak of horror. “Akira… what have you done? No… what have we done?!  _ NO!” _

“Neither of you will live to tell the truth, naturally,” Akechi lamented. And, before Sae could react, he pulled another pistol out of his back pocket and shot her point-blank in the forehead.

Sae’s face warped into a jarring look of shock, as she became limp and fell, becoming stationary upon the floor. Makoto’s face turned pale, and she slowly stood up.

“You… you killed my sister!” she cried out.  _ “YOU KILLED HER!” _

“Oh, I suppose I did,” Akechi noted nonchalantly. “How unfortunate. Sae-san was a very talented prosecutor.”

“You won’t get away with this! It’s quite clear to anyone that she was murdered!”

“Oh, yes, but you’ll be the one who murdered her, and she’ll have shot you out of self-defense. A credible cover story, I’m sure, considering that the two of you weren’t exactly known to get along very well.”

“How… how dare you!” Makoto sobbed in anguish. “Why?! Didn’t you like Akira? Didn’t you say he was a friend?!”

“Well, I suppose he could have been one,” Akechi reasoned, “if only things were different… but that doesn’t matter.” He again raised the pistol. “Anyway… goodbye.”

And with a simple  _ click, _ Makoto crumpled to the ground alongside Sae.

_ No… NO! This can’t be! I can’t die! I… I didn’t mean… I… AKIRA! _

* * *

**12/13/2016 ☀ TuESDAY Afternoon**  
**Days Until Shido's Election: 5**  
**Pretend to help Shido**  
**『Leave the Niijima apartment』**

As Akechi watched the life leave Makoto Niijima’s body, he frowned, his villainous mask vanishing as he quietly contemplated the circumstance. He was glad that the job was done, and the Phantom Thieves were out of the way, but he hadn’t really wanted to kill them all so soon…

_ Don’t waste any time, _ Shido had said. Evidently, Shido was quite anxious to get something over with. The disposal of the thieves? His rise to power? His work with Akechi?

Perhaps all of those things.

Akechi was no fool. He was pretty certain that Shido would not hesitate to get rid of him, should he ever appear to be a liability. But that would never happen. Akechi was far smarter, far craftier, than his illegitimate father. He was the one who had the power of the cognitive world. No matter what Shido might think, Akechi was smart. Akechi was going to defeat him.

But, Makoto’s words, and his time with Akira Kurusu and the Phantom Thieves, had made him consider other possibilities. Could he have perhaps been “good?” Worked together with Akira and the others? Perhaps they might have helped him bring down Shido, in a far less troubling manner…

Years ago, Akechi might have agreed to such a proposal. But now, he was too far deep into Shido’s web. And there was no way he could be friends with the Phantom Thieves. Akira certainly could have come close. Akechi had genuinely enjoyed their time together. Perhaps enjoyed it too much.

Joker had had to be taken out of the picture. His interference was only going to cause trouble. It had just gotten in his way. And Akechi couldn’t have allowed himself to get close to the enemy. It had only been making him weak. Making him soft. Too soft to deliver Shido the fate he deserved.

It wasn’t that a change of heart was too kind. A change of heart was far too cruel, for his despicable father. Akechi knew Shido was terrified of having his will twisted. It would not suit him. Death was a far more fitting deliverance.

Or was it?

Akechi was uncertain. He wasn’t quite comfortable with that. He put the thought out of his mind, and set about arranging the scene to give the appearance of a struggle between the Niijima sisters.

Once that had been done, he turned and left the apartment, closing and locking the door behind him.

* * *

**12/18/2016 ☀ SuNDAY Afternoon**  
**Days Until Shido's Election: 0**

“So you’ve done it,” Shido said, grinning wickedly. “They’re all gone. It was good that you took care of that Niijima girl when you did, and sent that impudent prosecutor down with her. They’d both gotten too close to be left alone much longer. And with that, I’ve risen to the seat of power at last.” He let out a cold, evil snicker.

It was the day after the election. Akechi’s efforts had at last paid off, at least for Shido. He should have been satisfied by this point, however, he sensed that there was something missing.

There was no “we” in “I.”

“What now?” Akechi asked, taking care to mask his uneasiness.

“Come to think of it, there remains one critical liability,” Shido told him. “The loyal customers of our mental shutdown business…”

“What of them?”

“How about you dispose of the ones you think suspicious?”

Akechi was surprised by this request. There was yet more work for him to do? He thought for sure that he’d be done by this point. Shido’s gotten the power he desired. Where was his reward? His pat on the back? His “good job?” Was it never going to come to pass?

As much as Akechi hated Shido, the man was, inescapably his father. And like any son, Akechi greatly desired that Shido give him the respect he deserved. It had been long enough.

“Are you listening to me?” Shido asked, breaking Akechi’s train of thought. “I have not made a request! Pay attention!”

Evidently, it wasn’t coming.

“…  _ No.” _

Shido’s expression shifted to that of annoyance. “Excuse me?”

_ “NO!” _ Akechi shouted with conviction. “I have had enough of killing for you! I won’t partake in your schemes any longer! You can go to hell!”

“Are you demented?!” Shido shouted at him. “You ought to know full well what it means to say ‘no’ to me! You have got to be joking!”

“Oh, by no means do I intend to jest,” Akechi assured Shido, gritting his teeth and shooting him a death glare. “You, Masayoshi Shido, are the scum of the earth! I’ve played along with your ridiculous, power hunger-driven game long enough!”

_ “How dare you!” _ Shido stood up and clenched his fists in fury. “I will not excuse this insolence!”

“I do not ask for you to excuse me,” Akechi affirmed coldly. “I am not worthy of excuse. I am not interested in redemption. You and I are both far beyond that!”

“You worthless brat! I shall dispose of you immediately!” Shido dialed his secretary, the foolish and disillusioned Masaji Kaneto. “Kaneto! Send for the cleaner at once! Some trash has shown itself in my office!”

_“Yes, Shido-san! I shall do so at once!”_

“Oh, go ahead,” Akechi showed a deeply indifferent face to Shido, not a single hint of fear present. “Under your direction, I’ve become quite the antagonist. I’ve done enough killing for one lifetime. It’s about time I be killed myself,  _ Father.” _

At Akechi’s last word, Shido was quiet for a moment.

“So it’s true,” Shido mused to himself. “As I suspected. Well… no matter.”

Akechi stared blankly at Shido a moment. They locked eyes, and it was just as Akechi had imagined. Shido held no care for Akechi whatsoever. He did not acknowledge him favorably as his son.

Akechi felt a significant presence looming over him. Without looking, he knew full well who it was. The cleaner, Shido’s hired yakuza goon.

“Goodbye— Ace Detective.”

As Akechi’s skull was crushed by the force of the cleaner’s impressive tattooed muscles, the last thing he witnessed was his illegitimate father’s heartless and unforgivably evil visage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there's a lot that changed in this chapter. Newspaper Girl now makes an earlier appearance and stuff, and we're going to be building up to her story here at a much more manageable pace. More intensity etc. The next chapters will follow roughly the same plot as the original, but with a lot of narrative fixes, expansion and optimization like was made here. We also exorcised a really lame plot device, and plan to replace it with some subtler justifications for what the hell is going on here. Akechi's development is on one track instead of all topsy turvy. Blahblahblah. So, same story, but it's gonna be a very different presentation from here on out.
> 
> I was going to post this tomorrow, cause I had the idea for establishing a Monday morning update schedule. But I dunno if that's gonna be a thing. We'll see. I'm not very patient and I like to have things be done when they're done. If y'all would prefer me to stick to a schedule, though, lemme know and tell me when I should post stuff!
> 
> okay, I gotta get going now. Much to do. See you next time!


	15. Abnormal Heroes in Grayscale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When seven teenagers, a prosecutor, and a cat quietly vanish from Tokyo, all at the simple whim of a single egocentric man, a bored school journalist, an overenthusiastic website admin, and a strange velvet girl do everything in their power to chase after them.

**11/21/2016 ☀ MoNDAY Daytime**

“I knew it!” I said quietly, yet with a tamed sense of triumph. “I swear! I… I just had to check…” Taking great effort to keep my surprise excitement at bay, I lowered my voice to a whisper. It was hard, though. I was talking to a Phantom Thief, after all.

And of course! Makoto Niijima, the student council president, a Phantom Thief of Hearts. Niijima-senpai had been acting so strange for months. Of course something had been up. Of course she had a secret. The Student Council had been noticing and speculating about this for weeks and weeks.

““So, Niijima-senpai…” I asked, choosing my words carefully. “You can really change hearts?”

Niijima-senpai cast her head in the direction of the door, looking extremely anxious, yet reserved. It was a rather odd combination of emotions, one which I myself certainly couldn’t be capable of pulling off.

“We have twenty seconds. Does it really matter?”

“Of course it matters!” I insisted, desperate for information. I was _talking to Phantom Thief,_ for crying out loud! “I need to know if you can—”

_“FIFTEEN SECONDS!”_

“I’d say what’s more important is that you document what you’re about to see, Newspaper-chan. For the paper?”

“Uh, right, right…” Returning my attention to my notebook, I turned a page, and, switching the from my left hand to my right, scrawled at a far rapider pace. “But I really need to know! I need their help with something!”

“From the Phantom Thieves?” Niijima said, emitting an acid laugh. “I don’t think that—”

_“TEN SECONDS!”_

“But Nii-Makoto—” For some reason, I found myself using Niijima-senpai’s given name. Perhaps it was out of desperation. Perhaps it was because I was conscious that I might never see her again. I couldn’t really tell you, so stop asking.

“I need… well, I need to find out something from them! I need to ask them—”

“Ask them what? Ask away, Newspaper-chan. You’ve got… seven seconds? Six?”

 _“FIVE!..._  
_“FOUR!..._  
_“THREE!...”_

“I have to go,” Niijima-senpai informed me, with the deepest hint of regret in her voice.

 _“TWO!..._  
_“ONE!...”_

Senpai opened the door, and extended her arms to the person beyond— a strange, pompous looking man wearing sunglasses and a black suit.

“We have an arrest warrant for you,” the man said as he restrained Niijima. “The suspect’s testimony confirmed your involvement in this case.”

“Wait!” I yelled, lunging towards Niijima. Was I a fool? Perhaps. But I couldn’t let my only chance slip away from me like this! Taken from me like this! I needed this chance, to tell the Phantom Thieves— about what had happened to me! If I let Niijima go—

But the other man, taller, and bearing a much more menacing scowl than the other, shoved me to the floor. I fell backwards, and as I did so, my glasses flew off of my face and landed nearby.

Noticing this, the man began to smirk cruelly, and moved his foot to crush my pair—

_NO!_

Didn’t this idiot cop know that this was a violation of my rights as a person with a physical disability?! He couldn’t do this! Squinting through my now blurry vision, I swiftly maneuvered my arm in a swift, clean arc, and grabbed away my glasses from beneath his heel. The man’s face reverted back to a scowl, seeming even more annoyed that I’d deprived him of his ability to fuck me over.

“You’d best stay out of this, you little brat!” he snapped, turning away and promptly forgetting about me.

As I stood up and put my glasses back on my face, I grinned. _School journalist, one. Cop, zero._

Well, that wasn’t entirely true. They had taken Niijima-senpai. So, I supposed that, in actuality we were even.

“The Phantom Thieves,” I murmured. “I wonder if they could… hmm, yeah… I should look into this.”

Just like how I had a secret… a secret no one had noticed, or even considered the possibility of existing. To most people, I was a nameless unknown. Despite being the one person who writes all the articles in the school newspaper, no one knew who I was.

I wasn’t particularly upset by this, but it was worrying sometimes. Why wasn’t I important? I was the one whose name was on every one of the articles. I was the best writer in the newspaper club. I was the _only_ writer in the newspaper club. The last writer left.

So, you might be wondering, why am I important? I’m sure I seem like a nobody. And I guess I am. So why am I narrating, you’re thinking? And what’s with this peculiar switch in perspective and style? Aren’t I an unimportant background character?

I suppose I could have been one. But in this particular case, I’m writing my own story. And to advance this story, I would need to figure out why Niijima-senpai had been arrested, and where the rest of her thief companions were.

I decided the next thing to do would be to seek out Mishima-kun. He seemed to be quite close to the Phantom Thieves, what with that website he was managing and all. Perhaps he’d know something.

* * *

**11/24/2016 ☀ THuRSDAY Daytime**  
**_The MOON_**

The comments on the Phan-site were not positive whatsoever.

No matter what Mishima posted, no matter what he did or said, it was ignored. Hardly anyone commented, and when they did, there was a constant endless swamp of either negativity or neutrality.

 _that suckers got what they deserved_  
_he’s DED dude_  
_why the fuck does this still exist?_  
_-DELETED BY ADMIN-_  
_mayb they kild ech othr_  
_lol who were these guys? whatev_

But Mishima remained determined. He maintained his position as admin of the Phan-site. Because Akira had told him to… _keep telling the world._ No matter what.

* * *

** _The TEMPERANCE_ **

Kawakami missed teaching her best student. Her favorite student. The one who always listened, even if he was slacking off in class… he always got great grades. That boy… it was as if he already possessed maximum knowledge or something.

Akira Kurusu had been remarkable… Incredibly remarkable. Too remarkable to be dead. Was he really? Had he truly failed the exam he’d spoken of? And furthermore… where was Sakamoto-kun? Takamaki? Okumura? Covering up their absences was proving to be a real headache. Were they all okay?

She hoped so. She didn’t want to fail Kurusu out of the class. And she wanted to give her student more massages.

* * *

** _The TOWER_ **

Shinya didn’t find playing Gun About as much fun as he used to. Without Akira to play with him. It was just playing by himself now… the way it had used to be before Akira showed up.

So Shinya didn’t play Gun About so much anymore. He helped other kids at his school with their homework, shared his lunch with them, and generally did what he could. He helped people, like the Phantom Thieves would want him to do.

_The Phantom Thieves are gonna win!_

Were they really, Shinya wondered. Supposedly, Akira was dead. Was it all part of the plan? Or was it game over for the Phantom Thieves… ?

* * *

** _The DEATH_ **

Takemi had lots of patients now, thanks to Akira. They were all depending on her. She had made an exceptional amount of progress on her experimental medicines. But she missed her favorite patient. Her guinea pig.

Akira had told Takemi, _I won’t be terribly sick,_ but… it seemed like he was. She was worried. Had her prescription not been enough? Perhaps she could have done more to help him…

It was too late for guilt. She went back to her work.

* * *

** _The HANGED MAN_ **

Iwai quietly dusted off his models. Today had been a slow business day. _How cool would it be,_ he wondered, _if I put a sign in the window saying I was the weapons supplier for the Phantom Thieves? Yeah, that might bring in a few more customers!_

If only their leader was still alive.

Was Akira Kurusu still alive? He had said they were going to get out of trouble. That Iwai could bet the store on it…

_We’re gonna kick ass._

Perhaps Kurusu was simply a foolish, overambitious kid, who’d gotten himself in a bit more trouble than he could handle. But Iwai wasn’t so sure of that. It seemed he had way too much guts to have been bluffing.

* * *

** _The SUN_ **

Yoshida was preparing to give a speech to the crowd at Shibuya Station. It was larger than usual, but only so much larger. He had Akira’s help to appreciate for that. That odd, idealistic boy had awakened him to what was most important— the future. His future as a politician, moving forward into that and away from his past.

To that end, Yoshida knew that it was probably the best idea to move on from Akira Kurusu and focus on getting elected. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t stop thinking about what Kurusu-kun had said about making a speech, before his death was announced on the news…

 _You’re going to hear a lot of stuff about it._ Certainly, Yoshida had heard a lot. But he wasn’t sure what to believe— an unusual position to find himself in, as a man who was supposed to be certain what his beliefs were.

He hoped Kurusu was fine, and that the news was simply a ruse…

* * *

** _The FORTUNE_ **

Chihaya sat at her stand in Shinjuku, turning over her cards once more for a prediction of Akira’s fate. But she still didn’t like what she saw… it confused her. “Death… Temperance… World?”

Chihaya had not seen the World Arcana in a very long time. She had no idea what it meant, or why it was showing up in her tarot reading. What circumstances could possibly lead Akira to the world?

She shook her head dismissively— she must have made some sort of error. So Chihaya put away her cards and simply awaited her next client.

 _My future is secure,_ Akira had told her. But Chihaya wasn’t so sure. Right now, it seemed anything but…

* * *

** _The DEVIL_ **

Ohya had been waiting for ages for her chance to write that story Akira had mentioned. _It’s gonna be one hell of a scoop._ Lala told her it was foolish, but, she still held out some hope.

Yet, the “real news,” —the news which, she now knew, was under Masayoshi Shido’s thumb— told her otherwise. It didn’t help Ohya’s drinking.

She was drinking more and more now, and writing less and less. At this rate, she wouldn’t have a job anymore…

* * *

** _The STAR_ **

Hifumi was still waiting, very eagerly and impatiently, on that rematch. A rematch with someone who was supposed to be dead. But she felt a strong conviction that he would be back…

_You’ll hear that I lost the game. Don’t believe it for a second._

That boy was a very strange boy indeed. Hifumi quite liked Akira. In fact, Hifumi sensed that everyone liked Akira… He was the most charming boy she had ever met. It was quite a shame that he was already taken.

By a girl who was also dead… and also one of the Phantom Thieves, as Hifumi was well aware. So she was probably alive too.

In the meantime, she played against herself— as she had used to before becoming Akira’s shogi master. A title she had initially been made uncomfortable by, but now quite took to. Hifumi hoped she would have the opportunity to teach him again…

* * *

** _The HEIROPHANT_ **

_Don’t freak out when you see the news,_ Akira had said, but Sojiro couldn’t have possibly helped himself.

When he was arrested, it was evident the situation was even worse than he thought… Now, Akira and all his friends were dead. Supposedly. How was Sojiro supposed to not freak out?

That, and his store had been taken from him, and closed. All told, Sojiro was a little upset at Akira… but he had had plenty of time to think it over. Perhaps Akira had the right idea. There were plenty of evil people in power, and no clear way to oppose them. Perhaps it was the only idea.

He didn’t know. He didn’t care. All he knew was that, with what little hope he had left, he hoped Akira was still out there somewhere…

* * *

**??/??/????**

“In the end, your rehabilitation was not carried through. It appears I have underestimated you.”

 _“What?!”_ Akira couldn’t believe it.

Igor’s tone of voice was incredibly condescending. So, for that matter, was Caroline’s.

_“YOU INCOMPETENT PRISONER!”_

“The assistance we provided was all for naught,” Justine said sadly.

“Our game has ended. Ruin shall be coming momentarily. Enjoy spending the rest of your life in there… repenting for your actions.”

_This can’t be…_

But then, Akira felt something lift from within his heart. He couldn't quite comprehend what it was, but, his eyes were inexplicably drawn upwards.

There, a bright, luminescent blue butterfly appeared, and began to gently flutter throughout the room.

“What… What is this?” Igor inquired, his voice taking on a curious— perhaps even shocked, tone. “What are you doing?”

And then, with a single blink, all of time froze.

_Do you remember now?_

“Remember what?” Akira called out, confused. “What am I supposed to be remembering?”

The butterfly floated downwards, and with a deep and gentle flash of blue light, transformed into a child. A little girl in a blue dress with butterfly hairpins and long blonde hair.

“Who are you?”

 _“Please overcome this game, and save the world,”_ the child reminded him. “You do remember that, don’t you? I said it to you in a waking dream.”

Akira shook his head, confused… overcome? Game? What did any of it mean? What was the point of it all? Why, did this have to be? Why? He was dead.

“There’s no coming back from the dead.”

“Certainly not,” the mysterious blue child agreed. “At least, not for normal heroes. But I know from experience, Trickster. You are not a normal hero. A normal hero could not defeat me. I would never come to love a normal hero.”

“Defeat you? Love… ?” Akira took a good look at the child. She appeared to be about eight years old or so. Wasn’t it a little weird for her to be talking about something like love? “Seriously, who are you?”

“Oh, you really want to know?” The child giggled— not in a mocking manner, but one of deep kindness. “Well, if you must ask, my name is Lavenza. But I’m afraid that I can’t tell you exactly what my role is in all of this. That would ruin the plan!”

Akira narrowed his eyes. “The plan?”

“It will all come clear to you in time, my Trickster,” Lavenza assured Akira, smiling at him affectionately. “You will wake up soon. But before you go, please take this.” She reached out through the prison bars, past the immobile twin wardens, and handed him a small book bearing the color of Velvet blue.

Akira carefully took the book in his hands, looking at it curiously. “What is this?”

“It’s an important tool in the plan,” Lavenza told him. “Think of it as a… recursive calling card. You’ll need it to ensure your success.”

“What?” Akira was baffled. “Recursive calling card…” what did that mean? “How do I use this?”

“You will remember in time. When you wake up, look for the clues.” Lavenza looked about the Velvet Room, and, for a reason unknown to Akira, gave the frozen Igor a distasteful glance. “That scoundrel… he’s had his way long enough!”

“Igor?” asked Akira, quite curiously. “What’d he do?”

“Oh!” Lavenza turned, realizing where she was. “Right. We can’t have you knowing yet. Those are still stories yet to come!” She spun around happily on her heels, and began to disappear, along with the Velvet Room. “I’ve got to make one more trip. Goodbye and Godspeed, you wonderful Trickster! Don’t lose ahold of your memories again!”

“I… won’t?” Akira rubbed his head. What memories had he lost? Everything was quite unclear…

* * *

**12/18/2016 ☀ SuNDAY Afternoon**

Akechi blankly stared about the room in which he had appeared, wondering what had happened. It had been only an instant since the cleaner had killed him. Did he remember what had happened? At all? He’d denounced Shido, Shido had gotten angry, and… where the hell was he? Akechi stood up, and regaining his composure, took stock of the situation.

He was in Shido’s office. It was a deep grey, ice white and coal black, appearing much more sinister than it did in reality.

Right. It was his dream world.

Were dreams the place people went to, when they died? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Perhaps they were the places where people who were already dead went. Yes. After all, Akechi had been trapped in a living hell for so long. It wouldn’t be surprising to him if he had died long ago.

 _Naturally,_ he supposed. _The devil would deserve to die._ Akechi checked his watch. He’d expected it to have stopped, or tell the wrong time, if it were there at all. But it didn’t. It looked to be only mere moments after he had been killed.

Well, what was he to do? Akechi patted his pocket.

Yes. His phone was still there. And going by what Igor had told him…

Akechi grinned wildly, knowing now what he would do.

_I have had enough of killing for you!_

Perhaps that statement wasn’t exactly true. Indeed… he was done killing on Shido’s orders. But there was yet one more assassination he was going to pull off.

* * *

When Akira regained his senses, he was in Leblanc.

Was he in the dream Leblanc, or the real one? He couldn’t tell. Perhaps…

_It really was a dream._

He felt his head. No blood. No bullet holes. No sweat.

But it had felt so real. He’d remembered the date. He’d remembered all the stuff he wouldn’t normally remember…

_Akechi._

_Sweating blood._

_That’s right. I died._

He heard a radio faintly playing music from behind Leblanc’s counter.

_who am I? am I_  
_not unique? maybe_  
_I’m not here at all_

Hm, it was one of those songs Akira used to listen to… sometimes. When he’d been alive. If he wasn’t still alive.

He looked up at the TV, which was displaying the news, and with it, the date…

**12/18/2016 ☀ SuNDAY Afternoon**

So it wasn’t 20XX anymore.

The news was broadcasting an announcement from someone. A man called… _Masayoshi Shido._

 _“I humbly thank you all for casting your votes for ME, Masayoshi Shido!”_ the bald, bespectacled man declared. _“Thanks to you, I shall now be able to steer Japan towards a bright and happy future that will inspire generations to come!”_

“Who the hell’s he?”

Akira looked to his right, where he saw Ryuji sitting next to him at the bar.

“I don’t know,” Akira noted, “but he seems oddly familiar.”

The blonde boy shrugged. “Well, I ain’t never seen him before. Where are we, anyway? Ain’t this Leblanc?”

“I suppose it is…” Akira looked around cautiously.

“Well, I guess we died, huh?” Ryuji looked pretty damn bummed. “Man, after all we did…”

“Indeed. It is a truly unfortunate turn of events.”

Akira turned his head in the other direction and saw Yusuke, having also seemingly appeared out of nowhere. He appeared to be quite exhausted.

“Death was, to put it quite simply, the most curious sensation I have ever experienced.” He straightened the sleeves of his shirt, and then used them to expertly wipe his mouth. “What a weird cup of coffee.”

“Coffee?” Akira asked. “Is that what killed you?”

“I suppose,” Yusuke reasoned, “but I have to wonder how Akechi accomplished such a peculiar and specific feat.”

“What are you talking about?” Ann’s tone of voice was slightly irritated. “My ears are ringing…”

“Ann!” Ryuji said in surprise. “How’d you get here?”

“I don’t know. A ton of junk just suddenly dropped onto me out of nowhere, and then I found myself here all of a sudden. Why are we in Leblanc? Are we dead?”

“It seems that way,” Futaba answered, emerging from the attic upstairs. “But, ain’t it comfy here? Lots of nice places to sit! And no Akechi to worry about… right?”

“I’d say so,” Akira agreed. He looked around and spotted a newspaper.

_ELECTION SEASON COMES TO A CLOSE! SHIDO-SAMA ELECTED PRIME MINISTER!_

Again, with that man’s irritatingly familiar face. Who the hell was this guy? Why did Akira recall him so vividly, yet not where or how he’d seen him that was so important?

“‘Shido-sama?’ Who is this man?” Haru inquired, also having appeared in a nearby seat in the booth. “And if we’re dead, why is there a newspaper with his face here? In… where are we, Akira?”

“My dream world, it seems,” Akira replied, turning his attention away from the paper sitting on the bar. “Leblanc. The Leblanc where Akechi and I played our game…” He coldly scowled. “I never thought it’d end like this.”

“Well, I ain’t got no reason to be reading a newspaper,” Ryuji said, picking it up and throwing it into the trash. “I think I’m gonna read this manga instead!” Taking a rather odd looking manga volume from Leblanc’s small bookshelf, Ryuji sat down in a nearby booth and began reading.

Akira took a look at the coffee beans and grounds stored on the shelf behind the counter. _Hmm. I wonder if I could still make coffee?_

It was certainly a possibility. It would help him take his mind off things…

As he pondered this, the door to Leblanc dinged open. Akira looked up, to see… her.

Makoto looked truly agitated, distressed, and tired all at once.

“Akira…”

“Mako-chan!” Haru stood up from her seat, and ran to meet Makoto’s eyes, giving her a tight hug. “Are you alright?”

Makoto coughed. “I… I…”

Everyone else stopped what they were doing and looked at Makoto.

“Akechi killed me.”

Akira locked eyes with Makoto, and he felt something. That same sense of connection he’d felt with Akechi, except, rather than aggressive, it was… melancholy.

“Well, duh!” Ryuji pointed out. “We were all killed by Akechi, weren’t we?”

“Come on, Ryuji,” Ann chastised. “Can’t you be a little more tactful?”

“Well… sorry. It’s just, kinda hard to take this whole ‘dead’ thing seriously when we’re all here… How are we here, anyway?”

Akira wasn’t sure how to answer that, but, looking at Makoto, he knew that she’d meant something different than just being killed.

_Akechi._

Just like he had been.

* * *

**11/26/2016 ☀ SATURDaY After School**

“Yuuki Mishima.” I murmured to myself.

Come to think of it, there was more to him than just managing the Phantom Thieves website. He’d been one of Kamoshida’s victims. And further… I’d seen him speaking to Akira Kurusu. In fact, that was the only person I’d ever seem him speaking to around here. Though, as time had gone on, he had spoken to others more often.

I’d never overheard any of their conversations, because more often than not, he wasn’t actually talking to Akira at all, but feverishly tapping away at his phone. It seemed that he was always pretty busy. Would he even bother to reciprocate if I spoke to him? Hmm, well, no time to think that through. I would just have to try.

So I darted past the corner, and found him, to my surprise not on his phone, but busily writing something on a piece of paper. It looked like it could be a screenplay of some sort. At the top of the page was something about the Phantom Thieves…

_“They can’t be really… really…”_

“Excuse me… are you Mishima-kun?”

Mishima jumped in surprise. “Oh! Uh…” Seeing me, he hastily hid the paper behind his back. “You’re in charge of the newspaper club, right? I’m sorry, but I have no interest in joining.”

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. Apparently, at least _some_ people knew who I was. What a surprise, right? And here I’d been thinking I was a totally inconspicuous journalist!

“I’m not here to recruit you, Mishima-kun,” I assured him firmly. “I wanted to ask you about something about the Phantom Thieves.”

The black-blue haired boy backed up nervously. “What? Me? I-I-I-I don’t know anything about the Phantom Thieves!”

“You’re sure about that?” He was a terrible liar. “You don’t manage some forum-based website about them, by any chance?”

Mishima gasped nervously. “What?! How do you know about that? I hadn’t told anyone about it but Kurusu! I’m completely anonymous!”

 _Anonymous?_ I was quite surprised to hear that. Given how vocal of a Phantom Thieves supporter Mishima had been when they’d started, I’d simply assumed that everyone, at least at school, was aware that he was the admin of the Phan-Site. It hadn’t seemed he was particularly worried about protecting his identity.

But that was besides the point. He’d let a name slip. A smart journalist would of course pursue that lead. Now, you might not have been a journalist, yourself, so you probably didn’t know that. But given all the skills I’d learned from my aunt, I had certainly attained a fairly experienced level of journalist.

“Kurusu?” I asked curiously. “And who is this Kurusu? One of the Phantom Thieves, perhaps?”

“He’s my friend!” Mishima told me. He’d clearly not been expecting so many questions like this. “He’s my best friend! He’s got no connection to the Phantom Thieves! Why do you want to know, anyway?”

“I’m looking for the Phantom Thieves,” I informed him smoothly. “I want to talk to them. There’s a particular thing I need their help with.”

“Well… you can talk to them on the Phan-Site!” Mishima said suddenly, taking out his smartphone and opening said website. “Right here! Er, um, I’ll let you borrow my phone, so you can leave a request there—” He planted it in my hands, but suddenly, an alarm on his phone went off.

 _Phantom Thieves Associates Meeting,_ the title of the notification read.

Mishima gasped, panicked, and took it back just as swiftly as it had been put there. “Oh! Look at the time! I’ve got lots of alarms like that! I’d never be able to track the time at all without them… Nothing unusual at all!”

“What is a ‘Phantom Thieves Associates Meeting?’” I asked.

Mishima’s face instantly turned ridiculously pale with shock, as he realized what I’d seen. “Oh, that? It’s… it’s…” He turned and ran away in a spectacular hurry. _“Nothing at all!!!”_

I peered skeptically at Mishima as he disappeared into the school’s hallways. Then, after a moment, I carefully and quietly tread through the path he had taken.

* * *

**12/18/2016 ☀ SuNDAY Afternoon**

“THIS MANGA IS BULLSHIT!” Ryuji shouted suddenly. “It’s all about that Shido guy and his **_‘GREAT AND HEROIC DEEDS FOR THIS COUNTRY!’”_** Ryuji tossed the manga behind him, where it landed perfectly in the trash.

Makoto’s attention was caught by this sudden outburst. “Shido?”

“You know Shido?” Akira asked Makoto curiously.

“I…” Makoto coughed. “I suppose you could say that.”

“Geez, he’s just some politician, isn’t he?” Ann said to Ryuji. “No need to get so worked up!”

“He seems like a total slimeball though!” Ryuji complained. “Everything he says sounds like a load of bullshit! Not to mention—” he cast a look back at the trash can, “his manga is _freakin’ boring!”_

Yusuke fished it out of the trash can and opened it up. “Hmm, I must say, the aesthetic is immediately compelling,” he said. “It’s quite interesting that he chose to have himself be represented as a ship captain, although, it’s not clear what sort of ship he’s in charge of, or for whom. Perhaps he’s a Marine Captain?”

“You _like it?!”_ Ryuji gaped at Yusuke, appalled.

“I never said that. I simply said the aesthetic had merit,” Yusuke clarified. “The actual content, however, seems to appear rather dull and self-centered.” He quickly thumbed through to the end. “In every single one of these outlandish narratives, this Shido man seems to emerge the indisputable hero. None of the other characters appear particularly likeable by comparison. An interesting story model… though it is not to my tastes.” Yusuke set it down gently on the counter.

Akira picked up the manga and took a look inside. In one panel, he spotted the fictionalized Shido’s terribly familiar face, making a furious expression at one of his enemies— an expression he’d seen before.

And then Akira recalled…

_Damn brat… I’ll sue!_

“Shido…” he gasped. “He’s the man from that night!”

“What?” Ryuji’s jaw dropped. “You serious?!”

“There’s no doubt!” Akira yelled, pulling the newspaper out of the trash and pointing to “Shido-sama’s” face. “This guy’s the one who got me arrested! I remember it perfectly now! That night when I was coming home from the library!”

“What?” Makoto was stunned. “Why would he do such a thing? Ordering our murders was one thing, but this?!”

“Hold a moment,” Yusuke interjected. “What do you mean, he ordered our murders?”

Makoto quickly relayed to them what Akechi had told her and Sae.

“He… that means…” Futaba’s face was laced with horror. “Mom’s death… the suicide note… the men in black suits… Shido did that! Shido did all of it! And he erased it… her research!”

“And my father!” Haru realized. “He did that! But… but… what are we supposed to do?!”

 _“ONCE AGAIN,”_ Shido’s voice rang out from the TV, suddenly, _“I thank you all for casting your votes for me! MASAYOSHI SHIDO! Our future will be…”_

“The bastard!” Ryuji yelled at the TV, punching the table in frustration. “And now that he’s killed us, we can’t do nothin’ to stop him! This is beyond fucked up!”

“It looks like he’s at the Diet Building,” Yusuke observed. “Giving a speech of some sort.”

“Whoa, isn’t that obvious!” Ryuji was crazy pissed. In his frustration, he knocked over a cup of coffee, shattering it upon the floor.

“Ryuji!” Ann shouted. “Calm down already! Breaking things isn’t going to do any good!”

_“SOON, OUR SHIP SHALL SET SAIL!”_

**_CANDIDATE FOUND._ **

* * *

**11/26/2016 ☀ SATURDaY Evening**

“So, what’re we doin’ here?” Iwai asked. “I heard you were workin’ with Kurusu. You an accomplice of his or something?”

“Not exactly,” Mishima answered. “I wasn’t working directly with him. I’m the admin of the Phan-Site!”

After a bit of research and asking around, Mishima had successfully managed to gather all of Akira’s friends outside of the Phantom Thieves together in one place. It hadn’t been very easy, but he’d managed to get them to Leblanc, which they’d been able to get into using a key that Akira’s guardian had left beneath the doormat.

It possibly wasn’t the best idea he’d had, since Leblanc had been shut down by the police, but it didn’t seem like anyone was really paying attention to it. The locals hadn’t paid Mishima any mind, and since it was supposed to be closed, no one seemed to be coming anywhere near it. Of course, there was no real reason to…

“Right,” Iwai looked at Mishima with a blank stare. “I ain’t never heard of it before, but you make it sound like it’s pretty damn important.”

The fortune teller from Shinjuku, Chihaya Mifune, sat quietly, turning over several tarot cards in her hands. Mishima’s eyes darted to her for a moment, curious at what she might be doing. But Chihaya’s own eyes caught his own, and he quickly looked away.

“Yup!” Mishima coughed nervously. “Anyway! Since Akira disappeared…”

Everyone was quiet for a moment.

“Mishima-san,” Shinya asked, “if Akira’s not dead, why isn’t he answering our texts?”

“That boy has an extremely tenacious body,” Takemi said. “He’d certainly not just give up, unless it were something really serious.”

“He said he was going to defeat the enemy,” Hifumi recalled. “I feel like he would have said something if he’d won…”

“Yeah,” Kawakami agreed. “Kurusu-kun isn’t just one to disappear and go quiet.”

“Well… he’s probably in trouble. But he must be around somewhere, right?! I’m sure he’s just not able to contact us!” Mishima’s voice was full of nervous conviction. “He’s gotta be out there!”

“You make a strong case, young man,” Yoshida commented. “I would like to be convinced, however, it’s difficult to believe that this is worth the effort you’re proposing.”

Everyone was quiet for a moment.

“Well, I think I’m in!” Ichiko Ohya suddenly burst out, standing up and offering her hand to Mishima. “What kind of journalist would I be if I didn’t try to find out what was behind all this?! And plus… after… after what happened to… Kaya…” she lowered her voice for a moment, before collecting herself and speaking up again. “I can’t let something like that happen to anyone I know ever again!”

Mishima put his hand down on hers, nodding in agreement. “I’m not gonna stand down either,” he affirmed, turning to the others. “What about all the rest of you?”

Everyone stared, except for Chihaya, who nervously looked up as she silently continued to turn over her cards.

“What the hell,” Iwai decided, shrugging. “It’s not like I do anything else besides run that gun shop.” Rising as well, he placed his right palm onto Ohya’s and Mishima’s.

Hifumi added her hand as well. “I wouldn’t be a very good shogi master if I forfeited this game before the winner was called.”

“And I wouldn’t be a good gamer,” Shinya added, joining the circle. “Akira didn’t get a game over yet! We’d be no friends of his if we didn’t try to find him!”

“All right,” Takemi agreed cooly, getting up. “If you’re all going to try to help him, it’s only right that you have a doctor.”

“And a teacher.” Kawakami put her hand in as well. “I told Kurusu-kun I was going to support my students. I’m in no position to break that promise now, Mishima-kun.”

That left only Yoshida and Chihaya. The others looked at the both of them expectantly.

After a moment, Yoshida got up. “Very well. I suppose it’s about time I did a little less talk, and more action.”

There was a moment of silence.

Chihaya flipped over another tarot card, and a small and mysterious ripple occurred throughout the air in Leblanc.

The fortune teller gasped. “It’s… it’s the Death…” she covered her mouth in shock. “It’s so close. But this order… what does it mean?”

“Chihaya-san?” Hifumi inquired, worried. “What’s wrong? What are you seeing?”

“It’s…” Chihaya swallowed, looking up at the rest of the confidants with a hint of despair in her eyes. “The cards are telling me… the Fool is gone.”

* * *

**12/18/2016 ☀ SuNDAY Afternoon**

Everyone jumped.

Ryuji stopped yelling, and his face morphed into that of confusion. “Was that…”

“The Metaverse Navigator?” Futaba confirmed. She pulled out her phone and checked.

Everyone else did likewise, and suddenly gasped.

“How can this be?” Haru was stunned. “But… we died…”

“No…” Akira suddenly realized. “We didn’t just die… we made the perfect escape!”

Everyone turned to look at him in confusion.

“Maybe it’s just like that girl said…” he murmured to himself.

“What?” Ann asked, confused. “What girl?”

“Oh… it’s nothing.” Akira nervously rubbed his head. Thinking about all that was giving him a headache. He turned his head aimlessly, and his eyes happened to land on Leblanc’s windows.

Curiously enough, he could see the outside quite clearly. It was… all black. Black and grey and… silver. A silver humanoid outline. He blinked, as he made out the image before him.

Silver? He’d seen that person before…

The door to Leblanc dinged open, and Sae Niijima entered the shop.

“Where… am I…” she sounded exhausted. “What was that voice?”

Makoto’s face lit up with a mixture of relief and trepidation. “S-Sis! You’re… you’re…”

“Makoto.” Sae turned to her little sister, her face full of regret and shame. “I’m sorry for what I did to you…” She was crying, ever so softly. Becoming acutely aware of this as the others watched, she looked downwards, hiding her face.

“I… I couldn’t stop him… I-” she turned to Akira. “And Kurusu-kun… I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. We’re all here because of me…”

Akira’s face hardened.

“No, Sae,” he told her, “you didn’t know what you were doing. You were just trying to do what you thought was best. You made a mistake. I can’t blame you for what happened.”

“But if I had just listened…” Sae choked on her tears. “You might have been able to stop Shido! You might have been able t-to… do something! Come back!”

Makoto approached her sister, and gave her a gentle hug. Sae’s eyes opened wide in surprise. “Makoto…”

“Sis. It wasn’t your fault. It was all Akechi.”

“Hang on…” Akira said quietly to himself. “Come back…”

The music on the radio began to play again…

_the fakers…_  
_are all, sick at heart._  
_Their faces hiding their fear…_

“Hey, uh, guys,” Ryuji interjected, “Are we just gonna forget about what the Nav just did?”

“But that can’t be real!” Haru asserted. “We can’t possibly go to a Palace if we’re dead!”

 _Palace…_ Akira’s mind again flashed back to the chat with the mysterious girl Lavenza.

_Plan…_

“Wait!” Akira shouted suddenly. “I think maybe we can!” He pulled out his phone. “I don’t know why, or how, but I don’t think we’re totally dead!”

“What?” Ann gaped, shooting Akira a strange look. “What do you mean by that?”

“Someone…” Akira thought a moment. Yeah. He’d been in the Velvet Room. And now he was in his dream world. He suddenly recalled what Igor had said, the first time he’d visited that place:

_This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter._

And Lavenza… _When you wake up… the clues._

He’d been sent here. To finish his mission. His mission as the Trickster.

Joker grinned wildly. “Yeah! It was all part of a plan!” He stood up and opened the door. “Come on, everyone! We need to go to the Diet Building in this world!”

All wearing baffled looks, the Phantom Thieves stood up and left the coffee shop. Sae stood there a moment, watching them go.

Akira stepped out of Leblanc and looked up at his dream world, and was rightly stunned by what he saw. It was truly a sight to behold.

“This…” Akira gasped. “This reminds me of another dream I had! I can’t remember when… I think it was before I came to Tokyo.”

The buildings all around, save for Leblanc, looked nothing whatsoever like their real-world counterparts. They had no signs, names, or other distinguishing features, were all rendered in a strange grayscale, with occasional accents of white. Which strangely, clashed with the sky, a cloudless, bright crimson red…

And in fact, the only things possessing any color in this world were Leblanc, the red sky, and the Phantom Thieves themselves.

And as Akira and the other Phantom Thieves stared at the strange world in awe, the music from the radio inside Leblanc began to kick up:

_wake up! get up! get out there_  
_raise your voice against liars_  
_feed your anger like fire_  
_if you hold on, life won’t change!_

Joker grinned once again. “I think we’re right where we need to be here!”

Ryuji smiled and nodded. “I still don’t really get it— but I got a good feeling about this. Let’s get going!”

The Phantom Thieves all smiled, and nodded in determination. But as they turned to walk away, Sae called out to them…

“I don’t know where you’re going,” she called out to them, “but don’t you think you could use an adult?”

Everyone turned around to look at her, looking dubious.

“What?” Ryuji scoffed. “Why’d we need you with us? We can handle ourselves just fine!”

“Sis,” Makoto told her, “Palaces are dangerous places, and we have much more experience than—”

Sae held up her phone, which was displaying a curious logo of a red eye.

“Is this the navigator you were all talking about?”

Everyone gasped.

“H-how’d she get that?” Ann gaped. “She shouldn’t— she’s not— what?”

“I was wondering the same thing,” Sae answered, pocketing her phone. “And since I seem to be wrapped up in all this strangeness with you, doesn’t it seem only reasonable that I come along and see for myself what’s going on?”

Everyone was quiet for a moment.

“All right,” Akira told her. “You can come with us. But watch yourself.”

Sae nodded firmly, and took after the Phantom Thieves.

“Wait!” Yusuke suddenly realized, as the group all started to move again. “We’re missing one thing. Where’s Morgana?”

“I was just wondering when one of you was going to ask that,” said a cheeky, boyish voice. Everyone spun around abruptly, turning, to see a small black-and-white cat sitting within the colorless street…

“Mona!” shouted Akira. “You’re here!”

Morgana smiled and winked. “Long time, no see, Joker.”

* * *

**12/18/2016 ☀ SuNDAY Afternoon**  
**Infiltrate Shido's Palace**

“So this is the Diet Building…” Makoto noted, looking up at the pure, white replication of the structure, with its clean, grey windows. It was a good bit larger than the real thing, towering over the Phantom Thieves significantly. A massive crowd of plain, white, featureless people populated the area, all of them ignoring the group.

“Akira,” Yusuke observed curiously, “your vision of it is quite menacing. I wonder what contributed to that.”

“And why’s this whole place so weird in general?” Ryuji wondered, scratching his head. “Whole dang place looks like some sorta bizarro music video!”

“Well, Ryuji-kun, dreams aren’t usually 1-to-1,” Haru pointed out. “I should know, since I’ve had some quite strange dreams myself that weren’t indicative whatsoever of the real world.”

“Oh yeah, that messed-up dream you had about poisoning and dismembering Shadows?” Akira recalled.

Haru smiled sweetly and nodded. “Mhm!”

Everyone else looked at her a little awkwardly, remembering how twisted her description of the dream had been.

“Well, never mind that,” Sae pointed out. “How do we get inside this Palace?”

“Like this,” Akira told her, taking out his phone and pressing the button on the Metanav labeled “Masayoshi Shido, Diet Building, ship.”

_Beginning navigation…_

The dream world around them dissolved, and then they were… in front of the real Diet Building.

“Wha—” Ryuji looked around to make sure he was seeing right. “It’s the same as real life! The same damn place!”

Their clothes hadn’t changed either, however—

“The air feels rather alien here,” Sae commented, staring around and looking at the sky, which had turned to a bizarre shade of pink. “So this is what a Palace feels like?”

“Mona looks different, and there are some clear differences. This is definitely it,” Akira determined. “Let’s have a look around.”

The team rushed around, checking every area surrounding the cognitive Diet Building.

“I don’t see anything,” Ryuji said, checking around a corner. “Say, why’s it feel like we’re moving?”

“I don’t know… and I don’t see anything unusual either,” Ann noted. “Anyone else?”

“Yeah, nothing here,” Morgana reported. “If anyone sees—”

The conversation was interrupted by Futaba, who suddenly yelled out in surprise—

“WHAT IS THIS?!” she yelled. “It’s— IT’S—”

The team rushed up to where Futaba was standing— the bow of the ship— and saw, much to their shock—

“Oh no…” Morgana gasped, putting his tiny paws over his huge mouth.

“THE HELL IS THIS?!!!” shouted Ryuji.

“This… is… Japan!” Makoto realized. “This is the entirety of Japan underwater!”

“My god…” Sae gasped. “This is… this man’s vision for our country?!”

“I can’t imagine…” Haru said, stupefied by the sight. “Even though this country may sink, he alone will survive… That’s what this cognition is about… huh?”

Akira couldn’t believe it. It was the whole country of Japan? How could this be?! And this man was Prime Minister? They absolutely **had** to stop him!

“I… I think I can see my house from here…” he said weakly.

“What?” Makoto asked, confused by this sudden out-of-place comment. “What do you mean? Where is it?”

“I’m pretty sure it’s underwater,” Akira answered, gulping nervously.

“A Palace with not only the center of distortion,” Morgana said in sheer disbelief, “but the entire country sunken… I can’t believe there’s someone with this tremendous of a desire. This will be completely different from past Palaces… be careful, everyone!”

“We’re definitely gonna take his Treasure!” Ryuji yelled.

“Let us go at once,” Yusuke agreed.

The instant they stepped in, their appearances all changed to their Phantom Thief outfits. “We’re threats already, hm?” Fox noted.

“It seems Shido doesn’t trust anyone…” Mona observed, “do you see all those passengers with masks?”

Indeed, every single passenger on the ship was wearing a bizarre party mask with their aristocratic outfits.

“What the hell’s up with that?” Skull questioned.

“He must believe that no one shows their true face,” Joker suggested.

Queen nodded in agreement. “It would make sense, since Shido himself is hiding his true intention in reality… so it’s here on full display in this horrid world.”

* * *

**12/18/2016 ☀ SuNDAY Afternoon**  
**Locate Shido's Shadow**

Akechi wandered deeper into the halls of the distorted Diet Building. It felt new, somehow. New, and at the same time, extremely familiar.

Shido’s Palace itself was the same as it had ever been, but some of the masked people looked different. And there were more of them. Shido’s cognition of who supported him had changed. Of course, it would have. It had been a good several years since Akechi had been here last.

“And the last time I will come here is fast approaching…” he murmured.

Akechi walked up to a large door labeled _Representatives Chamber._ “Hm.”

Knowing his father, he’d almost certainly be hiding himself in there. Where he could control the outcome of all the votes. But the door was locked, and there was no obvious keyhole. However, there were five slots in each door… for keycards?

Right. You needed letters to get in there. _Well,_ Akechi thought, _I’m in a bit of a hurry. I can’t be bothered with that._ He summoned Loki, and directed him to ram against the huge doors.

But nothing happened.

Akechi growled in frustration, and made Loki bang on the doors again. Still, not even a dent was made.

An alarm suddenly went off, and several Shadows came out of nowhere and swarmed Akechi. Shido’s voice found its way out of the PA system, overriding the looping recorded speeches, made by Shido, which normally played. _“THERE ARE INTRUDERS ONBOARD! I REPEAT— INTRUDERS ONBOARD! LOCATE AND ELIMINATE THEM AT ONCE!”_

The Shadows converged on Akechi, who smiled wickedly, glaring at them.

“I see. I should have known this wasn’t going to be so easy. Well…” He turned and dashed away from them. _“Try and catch me!”_

* * *

**12/18/2016 ☀ SuNDAY Afternoon**  
**Infiltrate Shido's Palace**

_“THERE ARE INTRUDERS ONBOARD! I REPEAT— INTRUDERS ONBOARD! LOCATE AND ELIMINATE THEM AT ONCE!”_

At this announcement, Joker and the thieves jumped. None of Shido’s cognitive beings seemed to react.

“Did we do something?!” Queen wondered, looking around in a frenzied panic.

“I don’t think so,” Mona said, “so the only way this could happen is—”

“Someone else besides us is here in the Palace,” Joker concluded. “Of course… Akechi!”

“What are his intentions?!” Fox shouted incredulously. “We must find and apprehend him at once!”

“I agree,” Noir said, “if Akechi is infiltrating this Palace as well, we will need to stop him…”

“This is too dangerous for Sis… !!!” Queen yelped. “I… we need to hurry!”

“We can’t have Makoto’s sister in danger,” agreed Mona, “let’s get out of here at once!”

They turned and ran, but as they reached the entrance and made to exit, Joker heard someone calling out to him.

“Going somewhere?”

Joker stood up and looked upon the person who had fired the light bolt at them— and found himself gazing upon the face of his murderer.

“My, my, this is a surprise, Akira,” Goro Akechi observed, grinning wildly at them all. “You’ve somehow found a way back!”

“Not as surprising as your appearance, Akechi,” Joker noted, giving Akechi his usual sly, roguish look. “Why are you here?”

“Me? Why, I’m here to defeat Masayoshi Shido!” Akechi cackled. “I’ve had quite enough of being a pawn in his schemes! A puppet, as you said?”

“I see,” Joker nodded his understanding. “You’re out to induce a mental shutdown?”

“Precisely!” Akechi looked quite pleased. “And I presume, as well, that you have come to infiltrate the Palace, and change his heart?” He laughed wickedly. “Joker, I’m afraid you will never get past these steps.”

“I strongly disagree,” Joker replied, taking a step closer to face the white and orange suited boy. “We’re not going to allow you to take Shido’s life! We’re going to expose the truth, and he will answer for his crimes!”

“Oh… but you won’t,” laughed Akechi, “because I will beat you! I’ve already killed you before, Joker! I’m sure I can quite easily do it again!”

“By all means,” Joker taunted, “I suggest you make your best effort, then!” He swept his arms aside, parting his coat theatrically. “Let us begin our game once again!”

Akechi laughed. “That’s the Joker I like to see! You’ve always been quite a worthy opponent!” He stood, ready for battle, poised to tear off his mask.

“Joker!” Mona shouted. “What are you doing?! There’s a load of Shadows coming this way! It’s not safe to stay here right now!”

“I don’t think Akechi’s going to let us go so easily,” Joker answered. “We don’t seem to have a choice!” He turned to look at Sae. “We’ll handle this. Take cover!”

Sae reluctantly did so, watching in awe and shock.

 _“WE’VE LOCATED THE INTRUDERS!”_ shouted one in a huge crowd of Shadows coming for Akechi. _“CAPTURE THEM AT ONCE!”_

Joker called for Arsene, who laughed mischievously and cast a light spell on Akechi, which the latter swiftly avoided.

“Not fast enough!” Laughing, Akechi tore off his mask, which, in a brief flash, changed from orange to a menacing black. _“LOKI!”_

Suddenly, there was a wave of black smoke around Akechi, and all the Shadows which were coming to surround him suddenly turned a menacing black as well. With that effect, they were stopped in their tracks, and stood, as if awaiting commands.

“WHAT?!” Oracle yelled, stunned. “He summoned a second Persona!”

“That’s right!” Akechi cackled wickedly. “I made these Shadows psychotic!”

“Psychotic…” Queen gasped. “That’s right! The psychotic breakdowns!”

“Exactly!” Akechi laughed wickedly. “That’s my power! The power you don’t have!” He pointed at the Phantom Thieves. _“DEVASTATE THEM!”_

The army of Shadows leaped out at Akira and the team, and, within moments, they were all sent flying to their feet.

“JOKER!” shouted Oracle. “We can’t hope to defeat Akechi and all these Shadows! They’re even more powerful than before! We’ve gotta retreat!”

“Oh, don’t worry about the Shadows,” Akechi assured them. He summoned his other Persona again, and with another spell, they all disintegrated into nothing. “I don’t need them anymore! I’ve got you right here… _Joker!”_

Joker coughed. “Why are you doing this?”

Akechi smiled. “So I can kill you all… for good!” He stepped closer to the weakened Phantom Thieves, cackling. “I’ll prove myself better than you… and then, I will eliminate Shido, and at last take my revenge!”

“Revenge?” Fox replied. “For what? What did Shido do to you?”

Akechi scowled. “That’s none of your concern, especially since you won’t live long enough for it to concern you!”

Watching from the sidelines, Sae gasped in shock.

* * *

**12/18/2016 ☀ SuNDAY Afternoon**

_ No… no… I can’t let this happen again! _

She thought back to the moment she had been killed… the moment Makoto…  _ Makoto… _

“Stop!” Sae shouted, standing up and holding out her hand in desperation. “I won’t let you take away my sister again!”

“Oh,” Akechi seemed quite amused. “So you’re here as well, Sae-san?” He chuckled nonchalantly. “I have no business with you, so long as you don’t get in the way. I’d suggest you get going.”

_ Sae-san… _ She gritted her teeth furiously.

Come to think of it, Sae really didn’t like it when Akechi called her that.

“Didn’t you want these criminals to be taken out anyway, Sae-san?” Akechi reminded her. “For your justice?”

“My justice…”

_ Justice. _

She stood up, her hands clenched into fists, shaking… And then she took a look at the fallen Akira. His eyes looked desperate, and they connected with hers. The same way they had when—

_ Sae… this is not justice… _

“Not that it matters, anyway,” Akechi told Sae. “I’m sure you would have been eliminated in any case, given how much you knew. The knowledge that Akira fed you made you a liability. Shido would have had me kill you regardless, it just happened sooner than expected—”

“SHUT UP!!!” Sae shrieked, having finally reached her limit.

Akechi looked at Sae with curious surprise. “Oh, uh, Sae-san… are you alright?”

“No… I am not… how  _ dare you…  _ ” Sae stared at Akechi with absolute utmost contempt and loathing burning in her eyes. “You have  _ no right _ to address me like that! As if we were equals!”

“Oh?” Akechi replied curiously.

“I have lived my entire life trapped in a system that would have me oppressed and overworked, all for rewards awarded to men miles below me… A system that would favor a delusional boy over a competent woman… A system that cheated me… that I was forced to cheat against… A society that disillusioned me and robbed me of my justice…” Sae stood firm, now feeling herself somehow rooted to the ground, as if by a supernatural force… “I will not allow you to continue your delusional murderous rampage… you… you…  _ you’re the real criminal… you scum… I will tear you apart!”  _

And then Sae blinked. An unexpected blink.

Her eyes briefly glowed a deep, bright, yellow, and she heard a voice…

_ “My, how lovely! A game is afoot!” _

“A… game?” Sae asked.

_ “You do realize it now? You were wronged by the wicked men in your world, and found yourself causing great and terrible discord to escape their wrath. You attempted to beat them at their own game, to rise to the top above them. To prove yourself better at winning, in lieu of your justice— all in a desperate, misguided attempt to save your own life!” _

Sae’s face was cold. Cold, at the memory of…

“Yes. Yes, that’s true. Makoto, you were right. I was so far gone, I couldn’t see! But— but… I had no choice!”

“Sis…” Makoto stood up, slowly, and looked onwards at her sister woefully.

_“Oh, I think you did,”_ the other voice replied. _“Your strategy was pointless. Futile! Men don’t 'play fair!' Men will never play fair! No, men are savages… animals…”_

“So they are…” Sae took a good look forward. “The bastard who is responsible for this perverted vision of Japan… the false hero who murdered me… and Makoto… and…” She clenched her teeth in fury.

Akechi looked quite worried by what he was seeing. “Sae-san… what are you doing?”

Akira and the others slowly stood up, despite their injuries.

“What the hell’s going on here?!” Ryuji shouted incredulously. “This ain’t what it looks like… is it?”

“I think it is,” Akira answered. “I wasn’t expecting this at all…”

_ “So? You agree?!” _

“Indeed,” Sae’s face was twisted into that of steely-eyed determination. “I will no longer cheat my way through their wretched system! I will show my strength! My resolve!” She looked upwards and shouted,  _ “I will reclaim my true justice!” _

_ “How wonderful, my love! Now, if you would be so kind, how about we settle our contract?” _

Sae’s head hurt like crazy…  _ what’s happened… happening… wait! Who are you? _

Screaming in agony, Sae fell, and her head hit the floor. Her eyes began to glow yellow again, more intensely this time. As she began bleeding out profusely, the Phantom Thieves all backed away from her in shock and confusion— and then, something appeared, embedded upon her face. Something firm… hard…

The voice calling to her laughed, as Sae tore the mysterious object off of her face. She screamed even more, as more of her blood was released upon the fine carpet of Shido’s ship. And then, as her face glowed bright blue, steadily obscuring much of the blood, the voice from within Sae almost seemed to become one with her own.

She looked forward, and, as she began to transform, she grinned a brilliant, excited, adrenaline-fueled smile. The biggest smile she had made in many years.

Sae and her other self spoke as one, cackling wildly with a terrifically hysterical and feminine glee:

_ “I am thou… **THOU ART I!”** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, there were a lot of problems with Sae's Persona awakening in the original. First, being that some of the colors and design choices I made didn't really make any sense. Second, that her Persona awakening was kinda shoehorned in there, in retrospect, and Akechi didn't originally stop to fight. And a few other things I could go into more detail about, but I'd be talking forever. So, here I tied it in better with everything that was happening, making it all more powerful and intense, and akin to what might be expected from the game. I also added color! so yeah.
> 
> The dream world, in the original, was described as a perfect copy of Tokyo, just mysteriously deserted for some reason. But **[here...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lswcZg7BH2M)** it's, well, cooler. And like what might happen if you broke the game, like, y'know, [Akira just did.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6j4K5iWTYo) Plus, I like to think in music videos that the characters are lost in their own worlds, which might sometimes mean they're dead, or [otherwise pretty far out](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzQ6gRAEoy0), so, y'know. This is naturally the kind of idea I'd come up with.
> 
> The confidants' storyline, as well, was kind of shoehorned in there originally, so that gets a bigger highlight here. Etc etc.
> 
> Anyway, next chapter will pick up right where this one left off! Hope you all look forward to it!
> 
>  
> 
> _Editor's Note: Mac here! I haven't been throwing my own two cents in recently, because there honestly hasn't been much for me to do with editing here. This chapter had a lot to revamp all at once, however, and it's always fun seeing how this story has evolved from its inception. It started relatively simple, but that simplicity won't cut it, so we're taking into account some of the core parts of P5's style: its color symbolism, and its Rule of Cool. But we're talking about that more in the next chapter!_


	16. Law by Disorder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sae Niijima has awakened to a Persona: the operatic trickster Irene. Goro Akechi proposes a new game, and the Phantom Thieves plan their latest heist-- a heist against death!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait between chapters! I've been quite busy, wrote two standalone stories for Makoto Niijima Week, and I've been working through the plans for a big project. More on that below.
> 
> Anyway. This is relatively short, and it probably leaves more questions than it answers, but I've got a lot of big plans to follow up on all this, improve things, and it's gonna be cool! I hope you all enjoy it!

**5/25/1998 ☀ MoNDaY Daytime**

“And that’s why,” Young Sae Niijima concluded, “When I grow up, I want to become a police officer. I want to stop the villains who make life hard for others, and fight for justice— just like my father!”

There was a moment of silence, as the weight of the girl’s speech sunk into the room.

After that beat, the entire classroom laughed. The teacher, a middle-aged woman wearing thin angular spectacles, narrowed her eyes skeptically.

“Sae-chan,” shouted one of the boys in the front, “what’re you talkin’ about? You’re a girl! The police are all men!”

“Yeah,” agreed another, “that’s preposterous! I’ve never seen a women policeman! What a JOKE!”

Sae’s face fell. She looked very disappointed at not being taken seriously.

But after a moment, she regained her composure, and said firmly, with a strong smile: “Well, guess what? Your opinions are all irrelevant! Just because you haven’t ever seen a female police officer, doesn’t mean they don’t exist! My father has told me plenty of stories of honorable women police! And— _I’m gonna be one of them!_ ”

The laughter in the classroom only grew louder and louder. Some began to stand up and pelt Sae with pieces of food or paper. Sae looked quite furious at this, and opened her mouth again to speak—

The teacher stood, and held a hand up, signaling Sae to stop.

Sae appeared somewhat surprised at being interrupted. “Sensei?”

“Please quiet down!” the teacher told the other students. “Your unruly behavior towards Niijima-chan is rude and unwarranted!”

The students immediately ceased their chatter, and sat back down.

“Thank you, sensei—”

The teacher turned to Sae with an unemotive and neutral look in her eyes.

“That said, your peers are right about one thing. There’s no place for a woman in law enforcement.”

Sae looked crushed.

“But—”

“Those few women who did somehow make it to be police officers are ridiculously underpaid and unappreciated by the vast majority of their colleagues,” the teacher went on tiredly. “It’s not a traditional profession for a respectable woman— and besides, with your grades, I don’t see you acquiring the qualifications. You ought to focus on raising a family when you grow up.” She turned away and moved back to her desk.

Sae’s face was contorted into that of disbelief and anger. “If all you’re going to say to a woman is that her career ought to be a mother,” she protested, “then what was even the purpose of this assignment?!”

The teacher turned around, looking quite annoyed.

“Don’t talk back to me, Niijima-chan! The objective of having you do this oral report was to teach you all to face reality— something which you’ve quite clearly failed at!”

Sae gritted her teeth angrily.

“Don’t tell me,” she spat back, “what you know about facing reality. My father faces reality every day, and he—”

 _“That is enough.”_ The teacher pointed back towards the classroom. “Niijima-chan, you may retake your seat.”

“He’s been doing all he can to make Tokyo a better place for everyone!” Sae insisted, ignoring the direction. “My father is a hero!”

“He has been afforded such an honor because he is a _man!”_ The teacher returned, exasperated at Sae’s stubbornness. “Now do as you are told!”

“No.” Sae did not move. “Not because he’s a man. Because he’s a good person, dedicated to what he cares about! And I am too! That’s why I know—”

Now thoroughly fed up with this, the teacher grabbed Sae by the arm and began dragging her back to her seat.

Sae’s face lit up with rage, and she began kicking, trying to free herself from the teacher’s grip. “Let… go… of… _ME!”_ she growled.

Her request was not obliged, and, in desperation, Sae opened her mouth, lurched her head forward and closed her jaw—

* * *

“Sae...” Sadao Niijima’s face was cold and disappointed. “What’d you do that for? It’s not very ladylike of you to bite your sensei.”

The two of them were in the car, riding back home. Sae looked quite embarrassed, and the right of her side of her face was very visibly red from a bruise. She did not answer her father’s question.

“You know,” Sadao went on, reflectively, “a lot of the folks I end up having to put away aren’t really bad people. A lot of them, they just made mistakes. Did the wrong things for the right reasons. Or fought back— when they really should have just walked away.”

Sae looked downwards in shame. Her face was hardened like steel.

“Sweetie, you remember that manga you used to like? I think you watched the anime too.”

Sae turned her eyes up to the rear view mirror where Sadao could see them. “The one about the ordinary girl who transforms into a magical hero and fights monsters?”

He nodded.

“I still read it sometimes…”

Sadao laughed warmly. “You never really grew up, huh?” He chuckled, before going on, “I know how in those stories, the magical girl always defeats the villain and saves the day— but, it’s not as cut-and-dry as that, Sae. There are some people who really hate my guts for doing what I had to do.”

Sae looked quite surprised. “But… why?”

“Some of the guys I’ve dealt with— they had friends. Families. People who really miss them. Some who they miss themselves. I wish I could help them, I really do, but, it’s not really up to me to decide…” Sadao sighed, thinking for a moment.

“But if they’re good people,” Sae questioned, “can’t you help them? Can’t you let them go?”

“The law’s not perfect, Sae. Sometimes, I have to do things I’m not proud of. Put my job ahead of my justice.” He smiled shrewdly. “Course, that doesn’t mean every criminal’s got good reasons, or that I won’t help make things right if I can.”

Sae looked a little perplexed. “Father— you never told me it was this complicated…”

“Not every story has a happy ending. But that doesn’t mean you should always assume the worst.” Sadao stopped the car as it pulled up in front of the Niijima household, before turning around to face Sae in the backseat. “No more biting teachers, alright? That never makes for a happy ending. And besides, there are worse people in the world who you oughta save that sorta thing for.”

Sae nodded firmly. “Okay. I promise. I won’t bite anyone unless they’re bad guys.”

Sadao smiled at her approvingly. “That’s my girl. Now, let’s go say hello to your mother.”

The two of them got out of the car, and Young Sae looked at her father with deep admiration.

* * *

**12/18/2016 ☀ SuNDAY Afternoon**  
**Infiltrate Shido's Palace**  
**「Defeat Akechi」**

Joker watched in surprise as a silver masquerade style mask appeared, covering half of Sae’s face, stopping just above the tip of her nose.

And then, she tore it off, screaming in pain as she bled. But after a moment, Sae stopped, and a familiar blue light began to envelope her, as she smiled…

_ “I am thou… **THOU ART I!”** _

Sae grinned, and, as the blue light surrounding her began to gradually dissipate like fog in a stage show, she looked onwards at the scene before her, looking refreshed, renewed, and _colorful._

 _“Thou shalt no longer be disillusioned,”_ Sae’s Persona called out, _“by such false justice ever again, such silly, preposterous dreams of ‘winning’ by the rules of such unbalanced games. We will overturn the table and strike back against them, like the wretched, deceitful animals they are!”_

Her costume was a terrific sight to behold. She was wearing dark red opera gloves, silver heels, and an elegant black gown befitting a ballroom dancer, which stopped just short of her ankles. And amidst her newly found theatrical attire, a sniper rifle was mounted on her back, with a bayoneta pinned to the barrel.

“What the hell?!” Skull shouted in disbelief. “I thought shitty adults couldn’t get Personas!”

“Skull!” Queen protested. “Watch your mouth!”

Skull gasped, realizing what he’d said. “Oh— damn, I didn’t even notice! Sorry!”

Joker snickered to himself. Evidently, Skull had gotten a bit too used to cursing all the time.

“Time to lay down the law, _IRENE!”_ declared Sae, grabbing the rifle off of her back and pointing it like a spear, straight at Akechi. “We’re not playing these games anymore!”

 _“Very well,”_ agreed Sae’s Persona, Irene, a tall, feminine figure wearing a dark red dress and a bright silver, wide-brimmed hat. _“Let us together take the stage!”_

Akechi appeared quite delighted at this new challenge now set before him. “A prosecutor becoming a thief! To think it would turn out this way!” He tore off his own mask as well. “Let us battle, then— _ROBIN HOOD!”_

Joker poised himself, ready to fight. “All right, let’s go! Sae, are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

Sae nodded, leaping into the thick of it all with the rest of the Phantom Thieves. “I haven’t been so sure of myself for a long time, Kurusu-kun,” she assured.

The ever-smirking leader of the Phantom Thieves grinned approvingly. “All right, then. Just one more thing— the name is Joker!” He turned back to face Akechi. “Bring it on, _Crow!”_

* * *

**11/26/2016 ☀ SATURDaY Evening**

The confidants all looked at Chihaya in confusion. She looked incredibly distressed, and was vigorously shaking her head, staring at her tarot cards.

“Who’s the Fool?” Shinya asked.

“Akira.” Chihaya averted everyone’s eyes, looking down firmly at the table, her hands covering her face. “Akira is… he’s really dead.” She looked up at them with a grave expression on her face. “And if the Fool is dead… the World will follow.”

There was a moment of cold, rock-solid silence.

“The World?” Iwai looked rather skeptical. “Are you sayin’ that like, the whole world depends on Kurusu? I ain’t really seeing that.”

“I don’t know!” Chihaya cried. “All I know is that…”

“Chihaya-san,” Ohya asked, her voice quiet, yet apprehensive, “are you telling us that this is all hopeless? All because of something you read in a supposed deck of magic cards?”

“Well, I-”

“You’re relying entirely on some mystical technique you dreamed up?!” Ohya yelled at Chihaya, slamming her hand on the table and sending the cards flying from the impact. “You can’t be serious!”

Chihaya looked rather nervous. “Ohya-san, please, I didn’t mean—”

“You need to take this seriously!” Ohya continued, glaring at Chihaya, who shrank away from the angered young journalist. “We can’t make judgements like this before we know all the facts!”

“Please, stop fighting!” Mishima told them, stepping between Ohya and Chihaya and putting his hands between the two. “Ohya-san, let Chihaya say what she’s trying to say!”

Ohya sighed, and, after a moment, backed away.

“I’m sorry,” Chihaya said softly, looking down at the scattered tarot cards. “I just mean…”

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Chihaya-san,” Hifumi assured her. “Just go on and tell us what you have to say…”

Everyone watched the fortune teller expectantly, as she quietly prepared to speak.

“Although that is what they said,” Chihaya told them, “I’ve been shown by Akira… I of all people should know by now…” she looked up at them, her face a mixture of melancholiness and deep hope. “Fate is not absolute. If there’s anyone who can oppose a fate like this, it’s Akira Kurusu.” She raised her hand to the rest of the group. “So— I’ll help!”

Ohya smiled at Chihaya slyly. “That’s the spirit I like to see… you phony psychic!”

Chihaya giggled at the reporter. “Whatever. We’re going to find him, right?”

Mishima nodded firmly. “Yeah!”

The rest of the group nodded, as well, in agreement.

“Well, then,” Yoshida said, “what shall we call ourselves?”

“What do you mean?” Mishima looked a little confused.

“Well, don’t we need a name? If we’re going to be organized like this.”

“Oh!” Mishima put a finger on his chin, thinking a moment. “That’s right! I hadn’t thought of that!”

“How about The Phans?” Shinya suggested eagerly.

“That name is far too simple,” Hifumi opined. “I would prefer something more elegant, which distinguishes us from the followers of the Phantom Thieves in general.”

“The Secret Phans?” Takemi proposed. “We are going to keep this secret, right?”

“That isn’t cool enough,” Mishima noted, still thinking. “Anyone else got any ideas?”

Iwai shook his head. “Don’t ask me. I ain’t exactly the creative type.”

“Hmm…” Kawakami thought a moment. “Secret Phantom Endorsement Group?”

“‘Group’ is a very simple word,” Ohya commented. “I’d prefer something more interesting… like, ‘society.’”

“Society?” Yoshida mused. “Well, it could be…”

“I got it!” Mishima said suddenly. “Secret Society of the Phans of the Phantom Thieves Enthusiastically Endorsing the Phantom Thieves!”

Everyone groaned.

“No!” Hifumi said. “There’s too many words in that. I don’t even remember all of it!”

“Well, we could shorten it,” Ohya suggested, “perhaps to something like… Secret Society Enthusiastically Endorsing the Phantom Thieves.”

“But that doesn’t make a cool acronym!” Shinya pointed out. “It should be something more like… Society Endorsing Thieves Under Phantom Setups! That spells SETUPS, so it sounds kind of cool!”

Iwai chuckled, amused at Shinya’s logic. “I think you sorta just pulled that out of nowhere. I’ll hand it to ya, kid, the letters sound kinda cool… but the name makes no sense.”

“Well, good idea about the acronym though,” Takemi thought a moment. “Perhaps we could throw something like ‘defense’ somewhere in there? Seeing as we’d be defending them.”

“Oh! I know!” Mishima grinned. “Secret Phantoms’ Enduring Endorsement and Defense Society! SPEEDS! Doesn’t that sound kinda cool?”

“I like it!” Shinya said, grinning as well. “It sounds awesome!”

“It’s much simpler to recall,” Hifumi agreed, smiling, “and it has a pleasant ring to it. I say we go with that!”

Everyone else voiced their agreement.

“All right,” Mishima declared, “in that case, we’re going to be SPEEDS!”

* * *

**12/18/2016 ☀ SuNDAY Afternoon**  
**Infiltrate Shido's Palace**  
**「Defeat Akechi」**

Akechi sent forth an Almighty spell towards all the Phantom Thieves, which they all swiftly dodged.

“Whoa…” Oracle called out from inside Prometheus, “that was awesome!”

“Impressive!” Akechi shouted gleefully. “You’ve all gotten quite a bit sharper since we last met!”

“Right back at you,” Joker retorted. “You seem to be holding back quite a bit, though! What’s with that?”

“I don’t feel like using my full potential on you trash!” Akechi growled. “You aren’t worth the effort!”

“How hypocritical,” Sae commented, summoning Irene. “Didn’t you say not long ago, that you considered Kuru— I mean, Joker, a worthy opponent?” She cast a curse spell on Akechi, which he tried to block, but he failed, and his knees buckled slightly under the pressure.

“Yes,” Akechi replied, trying to ignore the damage he had just sustained, “I suppose I did say Joker was worthy, but—”

“I wasn’t finished!” Sae interrupted. Lifting her sniper rifle, she leaped upwards into the air and, speedily bringing its scope to eye level, fired straight at Akechi.

Akechi, not expecting this follow-up maneuver, was swiftly knocked to the ground by the sudden assault. He gasped. “I see… what a clever technique, Sae-san!”

**_HOLD UP!_ **

“Nice work!” Joker called out to Sae, then turned to Akechi and tightened his gloves, poised to leap into the air for an All-Out Attack. “Let’s knock him out, everyone!”

The other Phantom Thieves prepared to attack as well, but suddenly Akechi held up both his hands. “It seems you’ve bested me for the moment!” he told them, impressed. “How about we be civilized for a moment, Akira?”

Joker hesitated, appearing skeptical, but intrigued. “You’re surrendering, then?”

“We can’t trust him!” Mona yelled. “Joker, what are you waiting for?”

“Hold off,” Joker told the team, assuming a standing position and pointing his pistol at Akechi. “Let’s at least hear him out. Don’t you try anything funny…”

Akechi smiled appreciatively. “Thank you for affording me this courtesy.” He grinned deviously and looked around at the rest of the Phantom Thieves, who had also raised their firearms, ready to fire at any moment. “Since you’ve so intelligently taken the opportunity to put me at a tactical disadvantage, I propose we call this a draw for the time being.”

“And then what?” Skull inquired, extremely dubious of Akechi’s suggestion. “Are you gonna just come at us again later?”

“Perhaps,” Akechi supposed. “But before I think of doing that, I have some terms which I’d like to propose to Joker.”

“Okay,” Joker stepped forward, firmly looking Akechi in the eyes. “What are you offering?”

“How about we begin another game?” Akechi answered. “A race, to be exact? Whoever gets to Shido’s Shadow first, within one week— on Christmas Day, to be exact —the better Trickster will enter Shido’s Treasure Room. Japan’s Prime Minister will thus either realize the error of his ways— Or die!”

Joker smiled gallantly. “I figured you’d come up with something like this. You had that much fun toying with me and my team before, huh?”

“Something like that,” Akechi chuckled, quite amused at Joker’s nonchalant reaction. “You don’t seem surprised at all. What a show of confidence you’re making!”

“You too,” Joker returned. “It seems you’re rather certain you’ll succeed in murdering Shido. Very well…”

“Joker, what are you doing?!” shouted Queen. “He can’t be trusted!”

“I accept this game!” Joker announced triumphantly.

The Phantom Thieves all gaped at him in shock.

“What the hell?” Skull exclaimed in disbelief, “are you crazy?!”

A wild and demented grin found its way onto Akechi’s face. “Very well, then… In one week, I will find the letters, defeat you all, and kill Masayoshi Shido!” He cackled loudly, and then leaped away beyond sight of the thieves.

“Yeah,” Joker scoffed, amid the reactions of his stunned teammates, “you think, huh?”

* * *

**11/26/2016 ☀ SATURDaY Evening**  
**Investigate Yuuki Mishima's associates**

_The Phantom Thieves might be dead, huh?_

I quietly scribbled some notes about what the strange fortune teller had said, yet agreed to in spite of that… That the Fool… the Fool…

_The leader of the Phantom Thieves._

_Akira Kurusu._

Of course. He’d always acted so strange, that one. He always had such curious answers when I asked him about the Phantom Thieves— of course it would make sense that he might be their leader.

 _“Secret Phantoms’ Enduring Endorsement and Defense Society!”_ I heard Mishima-kun say. A unanimous agreement was voiced, and they all started to leave.

I rotated my body to squeeze myself into the narrow alley between Cafe Leblanc, and the next building over. It was quite constricting there, but I’m not especially claustrophobic. I haven’t got time to worry about such things as freedom of movement when I’m on such an important mission as this.

Watching the faces as they emerged from Leblanc, I quietly and carefully took notes on the people who had dedicated themselves to this curious quest:

_Yuuki Mishima_

_Young boy with a hat (Shinya-kun?)_

_Scary man with a coat (Unknown identity)_

_Old Politician, usually seen at Shibuya (Toranosuke Yoshida)_

_Kosei student— Hifumi Togo, from that magazine months ago?_

_Doctor woman. (Tae Takemi, from the clinic here)_

_Kawakami-sensei_

_Ichiko O—_

I froze as she passed me.

Her voice had sounded familiar… but, I hadn’t been— I must have been subconsciously hoping that it wasn’t her—

Why was _she_ here?

She passed me without turning her head my way. I was quite thankful for the darkened evening sky, the setting sun, hiding my face. If Ichiko had found me—

No. I couldn’t think about that. I couldn’t let her catch me. If she found out— No, if _Mother_ found out—

Once I was sure they were all gone, I turned the other way and ran.

* * *

**12/18/2016 ☀ SuNDAY Afternoon**  
**Infiltrate Shido's Palace**

_“WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!”_ Panther shouted.

“I was thinking,” Joker said simply, with a cocky smile, “that Akechi is an overconfident bastard.”

“I don’t think that’s what Taka— I mean, Panther —meant, Joker,” Sae told him. “Why’d you agree to Akechi?”

“If I hadn’t, do you think that would have stopped him?”

Everyone was quiet for a moment.

“Exactly!” Joker tightened his gloves. “Agreeing to his ‘race’ was the best way to have him let his guard down. Besides, I don’t think he’s in a position to cheat anymore. There’s nothing for him to hide.”

“But,” Queen wondered, “what if he goes ahead of us, and enters the Treasure room sooner?”

“I don’t think that’ll be a problem,” Joker said, simply. “Do you remember what Akechi said when he ran away? About finding the letters?”

“Letters?” Oracle pondered this for a moment. “Oh, right! Akechi did say something about that!”

“Why don’t we go take a look?” Joker suggested, turning around with a spin.

“Are we sure that’s okay?” Noir asked, quite worried. “Akechi did bring a huge army of Shadows with him, after all.”

“I don’t sense any immediate danger,” Oracle replied, carefully looking to and fro. “We’re probably okay.”

Mona nodded in agreement. “It seems like all those Shadows Akechi blew up negated that security level increase he caused. We should be good to go!”

“Wait a moment,” Sae interjected, “you still haven’t explained how this whole “Phantom Thief” thing works, exactly. What’s the purpose of the strange names you’ve been calling yourselves?”

“Oh, that’s right,” Fox realized. “Niijima— Sae, if I may call you Sae? You need a codename as well.”

“A codename?”

“It’s going to feel strange calling my older sister by a codename,” Queen noted. “Though, it already feels strange having her as part of this group, considering that up until now we’ve all been teenagers. But especially after…” Her voice trailed off into the air.

Sae looked quite pained to be reminded of that.

“I’m sorry I hurt you, Makoto…”

“Please don’t stress over it, Sis,” Queen insisted.

“How about we decide on her codename later?” Joker suggested. “This seems like a bad time…”

The rest of the thieves agreed, and they then proceeded into the Palace.

* * *

**12/18/2016 ☀ SuNDAY Afternoon**  
**Help the Phantom Thieves Stop Shido**

Sae followed her new teammates through the main hall of the ship, over top of a large red carpet which blanketed their path forward. Said path lay underneath a wall full of bogus campaign posters featuring Shido’s face, which ominously read: **_I’ll Exploit All Japan’s People For My Own Ends._**

“Hrmmm… I can sense the Treasure’s presence!” the cat creature— Morgana, his name was? No, Mona, his codename —told them. “It’s that way. Let’s go, everyone!”

Akira— Joker —rushed forth to an enormous set of doors, labeled **REPRESENTATIVES CHAMBER** , and the team all followed after him. Joker approached the doors and waved. “Hello out there!” he called flippantly. His call for attention was not reciprocated.

“These doors are pretty damn big,” Ryuji - Skull - observed, adding, “Wonder what’s goin’ on in there.”

“There are slots…” Futaba— Oracle —observed. “For like, a keycard… Five of them!”

 _“FOUR HUNDRED AND SEVENTY FIVE people in favor, ZERO against.”_ called out a deep, commanding voice from a speaker mounted above a television which was positioned near the door.

“Zero against what?” Sae wondered. This whole setting was rather strange…

_“Since it is unopposed, this bill will be unanimously passed as drafted.”_

“Passed?!” Skull questioned. “That Shido’s voice? The hell’s happening here?”

“If this is truly the Representatives Chamber…” Makoto— Queen, now —explained, “then beyond this door must be the assembly hall…”

“What?!” Skull seemed a little confused.

Queen looked a little annoyed that he didn't know. “The large conference room on the news.”

“Ohhh okay. I gotcha— what’re they doin’ inside?”

“It sounds like they’re taking a meaningless vote in which the bills Shido proposes will never be opposed.” Queen explained.

“Not dissimilar to what I have heard you all witnessed in my own Palace…” Sae realized. This realization chilled her a little - to think she could ever have had a heart anything in common with Shido.

Everyone was quiet for a moment at these words.

“Anyway." Sae shook it The keycard slot things Futa— er, Oracle, noticed. What are those for?”

“I believe that would be the letters Akechi was referring to,” Mona theorized. “We'll need some sort of qualification, it seems, which shows our support for Shido somehow, or that we’ve sworn loyalty to his cause.”

“Swear… loyalty?!” Haru— Noir —said slowly. “How are we…” Everyone else seemed to share similar sentiments. They all looked rather conflicted about this. Except Joker.

“This’ll be easy— Chill out,” Joker assured them. “We’ll just have to fake it.”

“I see…” Sae noted. “So we need to pretend to support Shido in order to gain these... letters— or, access keys, or whatever they are.”

"It's not clear how one might acquire them, though..." Yusuke— Fox —observed.

“Why don’t we try asking around?” Noir suggested.

“That’s a great idea,” Joker seconded. “I’m sure we’ll learn something useful that way.”

“But,” Sae inquired, “aren’t these people not real— cognitions, they were called? Aren’t they something like dolls? Will asking them about how to get in there do us any good?”

“Well, not exactly,” Mona explained, “they’re the cognitive versions of Shido’s followers from his mind— they’ll know any secrets he’s shared with them. Assuming Shido remembers that he’s shared those secrets, of course.”

Sae pondered this for a moment. “So they’re like his mental copies of the real people… I see. I think I’m beginning to understand how all of this works.”

“Well…” Fox noted, “they could turn hostile.”

“Hmm, yeah,” Panther wondered, “what if they attack us?”

“We should prepare for the worst,” Mona asserted reasonably. “But we have to at least try, right, Joker?”

“Yeah,” Joker said, confidently agreeing. “Let’s split up and go talk to some of them!”

“But I can’t talk… I’m a noob! A social noob!” Oracle protested. “I have poor social skills!”

“I can help you!” Fox offered. “My social skills are truly unique in style.”

“Fox!” Joker reprimanded. “Now’s not the time to teach Oracle your ‘unique social skills.’ Oracle, if you don’t want to talk with anyone, you can eavesdrop on them, okay? Just find whatever you can.”

Everyone nodded in agreement, and, eager to gather the needed intel, all rushed off to talk to the cognitions.

* * *

“What are you doing looking at all these maps?” Joker inquired of Sae.

“They look useful. I was thinking perhaps we should take one.” Sae eyed the maps, and the small wooden set of shelves in which they were held, rather curiously. “But if Akechi’s got one of these, he might gain an advantage over us…”

“They look untouched,” Mona commented. “I don’t think Akechi’s grabbed one. We should be fine.”

“Well…” Joker mused, “if he does take one…” After a moment of thinking, he turned to Sae. “I have an idea.” He picked up one of the maps and pocketed it—

Then another, and another, and another.

“What on Earth are you doing?” Sae asked curiously.

Joker smirked. “You’ll see…”

* * *

**12/18/2016 ☀ SuNDAY Afternoon**  
**Infiltrate Shido's Palace**  
**「Discuss intel」**

“Okay,” Mona asked, “so we have to find five VIPs with letters?”

“Yep…” Oracle mumbled, carefully counting them off on her fingers, “a politician, a former noble, a TV station president, an IT company president, and a cleaner…”

“What the hell’s a cleaner, anyway?” Skull wondered. “What’d he do to get to be a VIP?”

“I’m quite curious about that as well,” Queen commented. “For him to get as high a status as that, he must do something quite important.”

“I suppose he must be… really good at cleaning!” Noir speculated nervously. “I just hope he isn’t dangerous…”

“It’s a member of the yakuza,” Sae informed them. “They call them ‘cleaners’ because they ‘clean up’ after any loose ends. Usually, people who know too much, and can’t be trusted.”

“How did you not know that?!” Joker asked, turning to Queen, who looked somewhat embarrassed. “You love yakuza movies! You of all people would know that sort of stuff!”

“Oh, I suppose I should have, but—” Makoto blushed. “A lot of those films are in English or Chinese! It’s really hard to follow sometimes! I guess I forgot.”

“In any case,” Mona said, “now that we know our goal…”

“Yeah,” Joker thought a moment. “We have one week until Christmas Day— when Akechi kills Shido’s Shadow, inducing a mental shutdown.” He gave the team a serious, determined look. “We can’t let that happen. If it does, then Shido will never atone for his crimes, and the truth about all he did will never come out. Our names won’t be cleared.”

“Right!” The team all nodded, voicing their assent.

“So what’s the plan, leader?” Queen asked, beaming at him.

Joker tightened his gloves. “We’re going to take the letters, and stop Akechi. If he doesn’t have the letters, he can’t get into the Treasure room. We have to get five of them, right?”

The team all nodded.

“Then tomorrow,” Joker said, “we’ll find the first letter. We should be finished with two days to spare, and on the 24th, we’ll prepare the calling card— then send it on Christmas Day!”

“How are we going to send it?” Panther wondered. “Also, how exactly are we not dead?”

“Yes, I was wondering that as well,” Fox contributed. “It does seem rather strange that we don’t seem to have properly died. I don’t believe we had time to address that, did we?”

“Well,” Joker replied, “it’s hard to explain. I don’t know why, and I don’t know how. But somehow, we’ve been given another chance to make things right.” He thought a moment, recalling what the strange child Lavenza had said.

“But… we’re still dead, right?” Noir pointed out.

“It’s not going to be easy. We’re traveling between the Metaverse… and my dream world…”

Skull scratched his head in confusion. “How’s that work?”

Joker took out his phone. “Check the Nav.”

Everyone opened up their phones and looked at the mysterious application.

“What?” Oracle marveled. “An update? How does this thing get updates?”

**UPDATE DOWNLOADED**

**NEW NAVIGATION OPTION AVAILABLE.**

**NAVIGATE BACK TO REAL WORLD** **(LIMITED USE. USES REMAINING : 1)**

**NAVIGATE TO DREAM WORLD (AVAILABLE PENDING REAL WORLD RE-ENTRY)**

“So…” Skull looked baffled. “Like, I don’t get it at all.”

“We have one chance,” Joker explained. “When we use the Nav to go back home, that’s it. We can’t come back to my dream world again. And if we die again, here, or in the grayscale world…”

“We don’t wake up,” Queen surmised. “We’ll never come back again.”

Joker nodded firmly. “This will be our last chance to win this game. We can’t lose. We have to best Akechi, and defeat Shido— or it’s all over.”

There was a moment of silence.

“So basically,” Mona said, “We can’t screw it up, right? Then it’s just like always!” He cast his giant cartoon-like smile at the crew. “And so it is, with the adventures of Phantom Thieves!”

Everyone laughed in agreement.

Joker smirked confidently.

“Right!”

##  ** SysTeM **

** The plan to change Shido's heart has begun. Try to steal your target’s heart by the  deadline. **

**Days Until Mental Shutdown: 7**

#  ** MiSsiON **

#  ** STaRt! **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, here are the things and stuff.
> 
> Before I go on talking about chapter change notes and whatnot, I'll explain that big project. I've started this project called The Crimson Compendium, a fanzine planned to feature writing and art from myself and several others. Basically, an illustrated collection of Persona 5 fanfiction.
> 
> I already went over the details in several other places and there's [a post](https://crimsoncomp.tumblr.com/post/165642669262/attention-phantom-thieves-view-the-original) explaining it on tumblr and stuff, so, look there. We are accepting applications for both writers and artists, and will be for about another two weeks or so-- so if you're a content creator of either sort and this seems like your thing, I'd strongly encourage you to apply!
> 
> Now onto the regular notes:
> 
> Mac and I changed a lot in the description of Sae's costume and Persona. It used to be a bit... well. Weirder. Black and gold and all kinds of nonsense. But we decided to change it up to more muted colors, and this is reflected in the colors of her timestamps as well.
> 
> It was a little difficult, cause like, when Sae is introduced in the game, she's put forth as a bit of an antagonistic force, one of the shitty adults and all. Like, she's not the worst villain in the game, but she is with the villains, until you change her heart and all in the interrogation.
> 
> So her prosecutor outfit is in line with the game's color coding of good and bad: you can see it in the opening, how all the thieves are rendered with color, while the city and everything representative of oppressive forces is depicted in a singular scheme of black and grey. Shido's guys all wear black suits, and Akechi's colors clash with the teams and the role he claims to fill. All that kind of color symbolism is present throughout the game.
> 
> So what'd we do? Well... we gave Sae a splash of color! Thus helping to contribute to the idea that with her awakening, she'd been liberated and all, getting back the color she'd lost so long ago. I know it's probably a bit hard to see this, since it's all words, but, we did put a lot of thought to this. We're also hoping that at some point we can commission someone to draw the Phantom Thief outfit we made up for her. Should be fun!
> 
> Anyway, we've got a lot of plans for the coming chapters, like I said, so... yeah! Thanks for reading, and see you next time!
> 
> Edit: Oh, by the way, one thing I forgot to mention: the name Sadao, for Sae and Makoto's father, comes from vivvav's recent Makoto Week story _[Good Cop, Bad Cop](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12135798)_. Originally I used the name Aritomo, but I liked his name better. He approved my use of the name and stuff, so, yeah. It's a good story, so, definitely check it out if you haven't, as well as all his other Makoto Week work!


	17. Trivial Deception

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I really can't think of anything good for a chapter summary. You'll just have to read it and stuff. There'll be some new chapters etc next week, and there's something else I'm planning with my fellow Crimson Compendium collaborators, to go up either tomorrow or Saturday. Look forward to it and stuff!

**12/18/2016 ☀ SuNDAY Afternoon**  
**Days Until Mental Shutdown: 7**  
**Leave Shido's Palace**

“Wait,” Noir raised her hand. “There’s one thing I still don’t understand. How are we going to find our way around the Palace? Were there any maps anywhere?”

“Oh yeah,” Joker remembered, “I almost forgot!” He reached inside one of his pockets, and with his usual big smirk, he pulled out a map.

And another, and another, and another…

“What the hell is that?!” Skull yelled, evidently alarmed. “That’s like a hundred frickin’ maps!!! The Palace is that big?! And— jeez, just how big are your pockets, dude?”

“Of course the Palace isn’t that big, you idiot,” Panther reprimanded, “it’s all just a bunch of copies of the same map!”

Joker laughed at Skull’s reaction. “My pockets are certainly big enough for this, in any case.” He flung the remaining maps outwards and onto the table.

“But what’s the purpose behind this?” Queen asked, perplexed. “I don’t understand it at all…”

“Joker’s goal,” Sae explained, “was to deprive Akechi of an advantage. He now has no way to navigate the Palace— which will surely make things more difficult for him.”

“I see…” Fox smiled, impressed. “That is a rather intelligent ploy, Joker. As always, your craftiness is worth commending.”

“Excellent!” Mona meowed as he jumped and down, delighted. “Let’s all go back for today, shall we?”

* * *

**12/19/2016 ☀ MoNDaY Daytime**  
**Days Until Change of Heart: 6**  
**Kill Shido's Shadow**  
**『Find the letters』**  
**『Outwit Joker』**

Akechi wandered the main hall, looking around for information on how to obtain the letters and enter the Representatives Chamber, where Shido’s Shadow would be found.

He took a look at the five slots in the door. Letter of introduction. Was there no way to simply bypass that nonsense and break into there? Akechi didn’t see a clear way to do so. What a nuisance… It wasn’t like he hadn’t faced such barricades in Palaces before, but they always quite annoyed him when they arose.

In any case, Akechi supposed he would need some sort of guide. Where might he find one? He’d seen, the day before…

That’s right! There were maps in… he ran back to…

There were no maps.

The wooden furnishing here had once held dozens of maps, and it was now empty.  _ Damn it! I should have taken one with me yesterday. _

He quietly cursed himself… he’d been a fool. So busy running from the Shadows, that, he’d not bothered to consider his strategy to win against Joker. And now he had no idea where he was going…

Akechi had only been to Shido’s Palace a few times before in the past. In none of those instances had he ever made it farther than here, nor had there ever been any need for him to do so, before now. He had little knowledge of the areas that lay beyond— and even if he had, they were sure to have changed to reflect Shido’s cognition.

There was only one way to gather clues now— eavesdropping. So, Akechi wandered the halls for a few moments. Shido’s cognitions of his followers all chatted…

“Who were those hooligans yesterday? I overheard them say they were going to Ooe…”

“Politician Ooe? The one who spends all his time in the restaurant? I can’t imagine they’ll get very far, with all the guards. What are they trying to achieve?”

“It seems they are perhaps intending to stop the mental shutdowns.”

“Those? Why, they can’t be stopped! They’re absolutely insane!”

“I’m sure that they’ll be apprehended very shortly. There is nothing to worry about, Lord-Sama.”

“Good to know. My, this ship is luxurious!”

Akechi was thoroughly disgusted at hearing all this… If there had been any doubt in his mind that Shido’s followers were complete and total fools, it had been purged. They all deserved to go down with this ship. And soon enough… they would.

In any case, he now knew his goal. The restaurant. Politician Ooe.

He had no idea where it was, but he was quite certain that it couldn’t be hard to find.

* * *

**12/19/2016 ☀ MoNDaY Daytime**  
**Days Until Mental Shutdown: 6**  
**Infiltrate Shido's Palace**  
**「Find the first letter」**  
**「Outwit Akechi」**

The Phantom Thieves of Hearts were back on deck, ready to overtake the ship’s captain.

“All right, we’re back!” Mona said excitedly.

“Brilliant!” Joker tightened his gloves. “Let’s go!”

“Hold your horses!” Mona said, jumping up and down. “We need to decide on our new member’s codename.”

Everyone turned and took a good look at Sae’s Phantom Thief costume.

“Do I really need one of these codenames?” Sae wondered. “The whole thing seems rather silly.”

“Tallest, perhaps?” Fox mused. “She is the tallest of us all…”

“No… that is a horrible moniker,” Sae responded. “It’s much too bland and nondescript of my actual personality.”

“Primadonna?” Oracle suggested. “Or, maybe something like… Contralto? Or Adventuress?”

“Tempting.” Sae mused. “Rather theatrical propositions…”

“How about… Highness?” Noir offered.

“No,” Queen replied, “that’s nearly a carbon copy of my codename. We would get confused very easily. It’s also not particularly creative.” She turned to Joker. “Do you have any ideas?”

“Hm… codename…” Joker murmured thoughtfully.

“Joker?” Mona asked, and the team turned their attention onto him. “What do you think?”

_ Makoto’s codename… Queen. Yeah. She’s the Queen… I’m the Joker… I’m her boyfriend… Sae’s her sister… _

_ The Queen… The Joker… The— _

“Ace,” Joker said suddenly.

“Ace?” Sae looked quite curious. “It’s a strange idea, but it sounds rather… mature. I suppose I could take to that.”

“Yeah,” Queen realized, “I’m Queen, Akira’s Joker… Ace. The highest value card in the deck. It fits.”

“Sounds good to me!” Oracle said. “We’ll call you Ace from here on out!”

* * *

Upon stealing the membership card and arriving at the restaurant, the team began to plan how to get the first letter.

“So,” Panther asked, “do we steal it from him or ask for it?”

“I would advise against stealing it if at all possible,” Mona suggested, “We don’t want to raise any alarms. We should try asking for it, and then steal it only if we can’t get it. Try not to make this Ooe guy mad.”

“Alright then,” Joker told them, “so that guy at the desk mentioned reserved seats. Now, since that’s the only reserved seat I see around here, I think it’s safe to assume it belongs to Ooe.”

“We should take a seat at a nearby table and wait for him to arrive,” Queen suggested. “I’ll go. He may become guarded if we go in a big group.”

“It may seem odd with one lonely girl sitting there,” Noir pointed out.

“Yeah,” said Joker, smiling at his Queen, “I’ll go with you.”

Queen laughed. “Joker, if you do that, you’ll just end up treating this like a date— Oh no, don’t say that’s not what you were thinking!” she said reproachfully, as Joker opened his mouth to respond. “I know that look when I see it.”

“I’ll go with her,” Ace said, “the two of us together will make the most diplomatic pair.”

“Hold up!” Skull said, “I wanted to go! Come on, this is a restaurant! I wanna sample the great food!”

“You can’t eat food in a Palace…” Oracle told him, “It tastes disgusting.”

“What— how would you know?!” Skull yelled.

“Trust me, I’ve tried.”

“You might have different tastes or somethin’!”

“Why is nobody asking me to do this?!” Mona protested.

“Oh, stop bickering, Mona,” Joker interjected. “Skull, you should stay with us. I think Queen and Ace have this covered.”

“I wanted to try the food…” Skull whined.

Ace and Queen went off to take their places at the table.

* * *

**12/19/2016 ☀ MoNDaY Daytime**  
**Days Until Akechi's Murder: 6**  
**Help the Phantom Thieves Stop Shido**  
**「Talk to Ooe」**  
**「Become accustomed to Palaces」**

“What an interesting menu,” Ace commented. “I haven’t been to any restaurants of this sort in a rather long time. Hmm… there are so many choices…”

“Sis, I wouldn’t worry about the menu,” Queen said. “We’re here to find Ooe, not have dinner. We can do all that after this is over, right?”

“Greetings,” said a voice. “What would you like for dinner?”

Queen nearly jumped. It seemed she had not been expecting the waiter to show up so soon.

“A lobster frittata, if you please,” Ace responded, “with a glass of Chateau Lafite.”

The waiter took note of this order and then turned to Queen.

“O-oh!” Queen seemed to have not thought this through. “Right, I’d like…” she took another look. “I’ll have the sauteed foie gras, a salad garnished with truffles, and… er, a roasted lamb.”

The waiter nodded and departed to the kitchen.

“I guess that’s what we’ll be eating if I ever get a proper paycheck,” Ace said with a lighthearted, playful smile.

“What do you mean by that, Sis?” Queen asked nervously. “I thought your job made you a lot of money…”

“Makoto—” Ace coughed and covered her mouth, realizing her mistake. “Queen… well, I never told you this, but… I don’t get paid as much as the others.”

“You mean the…” Queen’s mind shot back to what Irene had said about her sister’s history. “Those men, right?”

Ace nodded in confirmation. “My colleagues never really respected me… they were only trying to keep me beneath them.”

“Sis… You never told me that.”

“I didn’t think it was any of your business. And after all, I wasn’t making so little money that… that we’d have to move. It just felt… well, I didn’t think there was anything I could do about it.”

“But how could you ignore that? It isn’t fair!”

Queen looked confused and distraught.

Ace sat silently for a moment.

“Not… fair…” she wondered quietly to herself. “It’s just like…”

“Hello there!”

Distracted from her reverie, Ace turned to face the man who had spoken.

“Why, you two certainly look like fine young ladies!” the man, a rich-looking fellow in a clean-cut suit, said. He looked quite stuck-up, and had a large nose for a man his age. “I don’t believe I’ve seen either of you around here. How did you two manage to get yourselves a place on Shido-san’s ship?”

“Um, we’re…” Queen seemed at a loss for words. It seemed she had been far too distracted by her conversation with Ace.

“And my,” he added, turning to Ace, “your attire is so very flamboyant!” He reached out and touched her gown. “It’s quite smooth! I’d be much interested to know what tailor fabricated this lovely piece of handiwork.”

“Pardon me for asking,” Ace inquired, subtly pulling her gown away from Ooe, “but are you the prestigious politician Ooe? I do love your speeches. So eloquent!”

Ooe was taken aback by Ace’s flattery. “Uh, yes, indeed I am— wait, what do you want?!”

“This will be an impudent request,” Queen picked up, “but would you provide us a letter of introduction to… Shido-san?”

“Why would you need one? You seem to be very young people.”

“We would love to be granted an audience with him,” Ace said pleasantly, bowing her head, “his political ideology and beliefs line up with our own quite well.”

Queen nodded. “Truly. Of course, the same can be said about yourself, Ooe-san.”

* * *

**12/19/2016 ☀ MoNDaY Daytime**  
**Days Until Mental Shutdown: 6**  
**Infiltrate Shido's Palace**  
**「Find the first letter」**  
**「Outwit Akechi」**

“Do they look like they’re doing okay there?” Mona asked.

“Seem so… the politician appears to be smiling,” Fox observed. “This may yet be a success for us.”

“Don’t let your guard down,” Joker warned.

In the distance, Ace and Queen continued chatting with a rather pleased-looking Ooe.

“Man, I wish I coulda gone with ‘em…” Skull cracked his knuckles. “I wanna give that asshole a piece of my mind!”

“Yeah,” Oracle said. “Oh… he said something about the principal… and mental shutdowns… Ace and Queen don’t look very happy.”

“Don’t freak out,” Panther said cautiously, “they seem to be keeping their cool.”

* * *

**12/19/2016 ☀ MoNDaY Daytime**  
**Help the Phantom Thieves Stop Shido**  
**Days Until Akechi's Murder: 6**  
**「Talk to Ooe」**  
**「Become accustomed to Palaces」**

“Do you recall the subway accident, this past spring? The one I targeted was that engineer. It was to discredit the president of some company and a diplomat who was siding with current government.”

“That… you did that?” Queen gasped. “How could you…?!”

“That was very useful, Ooe-san,” Ace told Ooe, smiling at him with a triumphant look in her eyes. “I’ll have you know… I’m a public prosecutor with the SIU…”

“What?” Ooe narrowed his eyes. “Oh, I recognize you… through that mask! You’re… Sae Niijima?!”

“The very same,” Ace said, grinning proudly. “Since you’ve so conveniently confessed your crime to us, I could build a case against you in my sleep. So how about you hand us that letter of introduction— unless you’d rather spend the remainder of your short, miserable life in prison?”

“Are you threatening me?!” Ooe shouted incredulously.

“Please,” Ace said, pleasantly, “do make this easy on yourself.”

There was a moment of silence.

And then Ooe began laughing, and laughing, and laughing…

“Do you think this is funny?!” demanded Ace, glaring at Ooe through her mask.

“Why, yes! Yes, I do!” Ooe said, grinning. “Niijima, I do wonder how you got hired to work at the SIU, of all things. You seem to not know your place!”

Ace gritted her teeth. “What do you mean by that?”

“In fact— I’m surprised you were able to become a prosecutor to begin with! You aren’t even any good at it! No surprise, of course— it’s a better job left up to an upstanding man!”

Ace looked furious. “I am… I am just as good as a man!” she snapped. “I am far more diplomatic than you, as a matter of fact, Ooe! I have manners!”

“Ha! What balderdash!” Ooe laughed for a bit longer. “But… you were useful for one thing.”

“And… what was that?”

“You never realized? My, you’re such a foolish woman! You never noticed, how, every single case you won served to get someone out of the way of Masayoshi Shido? Every single person whom you prosecuted, they opposed Shido-san’s views!”

Ace gasped. “Wha… What?!”

“That’s right!” Ooe laughed. “You never won a single case, Niijima! Every one of them was won by your employers— the men commanding you —all for Shido-san! All to further his ship’s journey, across this great country of Japan!”

“NO!” Sae gasped. “It can’t be! This… this… my entire career… all for this?” She looked around the interior of the ship. “All… all to further the ambitions of a wretched man like Shido?!”

“And _you_ , of all people, want a letter of introduction? You have SOME NERVE!” Ooe cackled, as black smoke began to emit from his feet. “No woman has any business meddling in the construction of Shido-san’s great country! But— perhaps you could try to prove yourself worthy of standing up against me,” Ooe suggested, as he slowly began to transform. “You could try… but there is no way I will ever be defeated by a _ woman like you!” _

As the giant snake creature began to tower over Ace and Queen, the former looked at him with much contempt and poison in her eyes…

* * *

**12/19/2016 ☀ MoNDaY Daytime**  
**Days Until Mental Shutdown: 6**  
**Infiltrate Shido's Palace**  
**「Find the first letter」**  
**「Outwit Akechi」**

“Wha—” Mona was astonished. “How is it transforming into a Shadow… that should be impossible!”

“I knew I should’ve gone with them…” Joker groaned.

“Joker! Forget that!” Panther said urgently. “Come on and let’s get this over with!”

The team rushed to intervene as Ooe transformed into a large multi-headed snake creature.

“KAMU SUSANO-O!” Fox shouted, tearing away his mask, “BUFUDYNE!”

Nothing happened.

_ “IRENE—  _ **_GO FORTH!”_ ** Ace leaped high into the air above Ooe’s Shadow form, casting a darkness spell upon it.

The Shadow dodged and made a move to counterattack, but Noir intervened with a well timed Psiodyne from Asarte, knocking the creature off its feet.

**_WEAK_ **

**“GET HIM!”** shouted Noir.

Within a few short moments, Ooe was defeated and reverted back to his original form. Seizing the opportunity, Skull swiftly pickpocketed the letter from his pocket and high-fived everyone. “YEAH! We got it!”

“Uhh…” Ooe groaned.

“Hey!” Skull shouted at Ooe. “So it was you that caused that trainwreck?! You fucking serious?” He looked ready to sock Ooe straight in the jaw. “People  _ died, you little—” _

Ace roughly shoved Skull aside, much to his surprise, and began moving towards Ooe.

“What the hell?” Skull looked incredulous at having been preempted. “I was really getting worked up there!”

Sae looked down at Ooe and held up her red-gloved hand— 

“Sis!” Queen called out. “What are you doing?”

_ SLAP! _

“Was that true?” Ace demanded, her eyes betraying a series of incensed emotions beneath her mask. She grabbed Ooe by the collar, pulling him towards her threateningly. “My education, my job, all my cases, the respect I earned as a prosecutor—  _ all for Shido?!” _

Ooe chuckled weakly. “Why would I tell you the truth about that?”

“So you were lying?!”

He looked up at her with a cunning smile. “Now, now, let’s not jump to conclusions. I never said that.”

Ace hissed aggressively at Ooe. “You… you had better…”

“Sis!” Queen shouted again. “It isn’t worth it! He won’t tell you anything!”

Ace stood for a moment, staring at Ooe.

After a beat, she dropped him, turned back and rejoined the group.

“Very well,” she conceded, reluctantly, her expression still ever so bitter. “Let’s leave him.”

* * *

**12/19/2016 ☀ MoNDaY Daytime**  
**Days Until Akechi's Murder: 6**

Sae sat quietly in Akira’s dream Leblanc, feeling exhausted. The Metaverse was… a lot to follow. And everything that had happened…

The interrogation. Makoto’s initial arrest. Rescuing her, learning of Akechi’s other side, and failing to protect her baby sister…

And her appearance in this strange world, this Palace world formed from Shido Masayoshi’s “distorted desires.”

The very Phantom Thieves she had been attempting to prosecute not too long ago… Akira, she had drilled for information. Makoto she had saved, then scolded— and then—

“Sis,” Makoto inquired, “are you alright?”

“I…”

How was it that Makoto could so easily forgive her for what she’d done?

“I’m sure not all your cases were… set up,” Makoto assured, attempting to console her sister. “You’re not worthless, Si—”

“No.” Sae raised her hand. “I’m okay, Makoto. I don’t need… need…”

“It’s really alright, Sis,” Makoto promised. “You’re not a bad person. I don’t think Akira and the others think so either.”

Sae’s train of thought stopped for a moment.

_ Right. Akira. Makoto had been… _

“You look upset,” Makoto commented. “Are you still mad that I’m in a relationship with him?”

“Makoto. How far have you gone?”

Makoto looked puzzled. “What… what do you mean?”

“With Akira. How far did you take it? Did you— do—”

Makoto’s face turned red, and she looked to the floor. “I-I… We… well, Sis, actually, Akira and I… we did—”

She choked on the words.

Sae stared at Makoto in cold, silent anticipation. “You did what?”

Makoto said nothing.

“I’m not mad if you went that far,” Sae insisted. “I just want to—”

The door dinged open.

“Hey,” Akira said as he walked in, “are you all okay here?”

Sae looked away from Akira. “I’m fine, Kurusu-kun. You and Makoto should just… do your thing.”

Akira looked perplexed. “Uh… did something happen?”

“No. Nothing happened.”

“Sis, Akira and I— we, we didn’t mean—’

“I need some time to myself. It’s been a stressful day.”

Akira and Makoto stood there, Makoto looking afraid, and Akira, baffled.

“Go on.”

The two of them nervously left Sae and departed upstairs.

Sae placed her head on the table, and continued thinking.

_ Father… If my achievements as a prosecutor were all fabricated, to lift up those in power… then what about you? _

* * *

**12/19/2016 ☀ MoNDaY Evening**  
**Days Until Change of Heart: 6**  
**Kill Shido's Shadow**  
**『Find the letters』**  
**『Outwit Joker』**

“Sir!” said the waiter at the front of the restaurant, “you need a membership card—” But Akechi whipped out his pistol and promptly shot the cognition in the face. He was quite furious— due to Joker’s trick, it had taken him quite awhile to figure out the location of Ooe.

Shido’s cognitions ignored Akechi’s blatant murder. Unopposed, he sauntered into the restaurant and found the politician Ooe, sitting at his reserved table and talking casually to a few other random cognitions.

“Hello, Ooe-san.” Akechi said cooly. “I am Goro Akechi— Shido’s assassin, who triggered a psychotic breakdown for you, back in April. I would like your letter of introduction.”

“My letter of introduction?” Ooe scoffed. “Why would you want that? You’re a child. You don’t have any business with Shido-san.”

“He is my former employer,” Akechi replied simply, “and I have business with him. Now, if you please, hand it over.”

“Ha! As if I would ever give it to you…” Ooe laughed a moment longer. “But in any case, even if I wanted to, I couldn’t possibly. I’m afraid that it has been stolen.”

“Stolen?” Akechi scowled. “By whom, exactly?”

“Those brats, and that prosecutor woman… damn them!” Ooe looked annoyed. “Whatever the case, they’ve beaten me, so it’s pointless to dwell on regrets like this.”

“… I see.” Appearing quite pissed off, Akechi turned away, and began to walk back towards the restaurant’s exit. “No matter… I’ll just have to catch up with them.”

Ooe went back to the conversation he had been having before Akechi had come in. “It’s good that those Phantom Thief brats didn’t… that mental shutdown, yes, yes…”

Akechi stopped at the words “mental shutdown.”

That’s right. He’d caused a mental shutdown for this man… the same way he’d been causing mental shutdowns for Shido. Wasting time, playing this ridiculous political game…

He turned around and approached Ooe again. “Oh, by the way…”

“What do you want now?”

“Do you know what I am here to do?”

“No,” Ooe replied, “I can’t say I do…”

“I am here to eliminate a particularly evil man,” Akechi informed Ooe. “That isn’t you, but… you were responsible for ordering that breakdown, were you not? The psychotic breakdown, which my despicable employer orchestrated, and which I carried out…”

“So you did,” Ooe mused. “What of it, Goro Akechi?”

“What of it?” Akechi repeated nonchalantly. “Well, you see, I have an idea. I shall punish you for ordering that breakdown… And send that man a warning.” He raised his pistol.

“What?” Ooe gasped in shock. “You can’t be serious! You can’t kill me!”

Akechi made a sly smirk. “You aren’t really Shido’s cognition of the politician Ooe, now are you? You’re simply a Shadow who came along for the ride, so it would only be reasonable that erasing you… would erase  _ him _ as well.”

“NO!” Ooe was now desperate. “Please— don’t!”

**bang.**

The Shadow Ooe dropped dead and melted away into blackness.

Akechi chuckled, as a wicked smile spread across his face.

“Heh.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, one thing I've been kind of thinking about. The prequel to this that I was working on, A Leaf in a River, hasn't been updated in awhile. This is because I kinda fell off it, after I had a lot of difficulties trying to tell the story in a way that was interesting and characterizing the characters right-- Mitsuru and Aigis in particular. (Mac hasn't played P3 so he couldn't give advice about this.) And like, a whole bunch of people liked the first chapter, but then hardly anyone commented on the second and third chapter. And I was kinda like... well if no one is liking this why am I writing it?
> 
> Cause like the thing is if no one's reading my stories... I'll write them for fun, sure, but the odds that I'll actually finish them will diminish if no one reads them, or well, communicates to me that they like or dislike them. Cause I guess maybe lots of people were reading it. How would I know???
> 
> It's a shame, cause, I was enjoying writing it and I'd like to finish it because there's a lot of ideas I had which tie directly into this story and P5's backstory and the overall mythos of the series as I interpret it, but... I'd rather write what people want me to write. Well, you know, I'll write what people want me to write and what I want to write too. Gotta check both boxes.
> 
> So, uh yeah lemme know if you want me to continue that story at some point. It won't be anytime too soon, cause, there's a lot I want to change with how I set it up and stuff if I do go back to it. In the meantime, I am officially placing it on an indefinite hiatus.
> 
> Whichever the case, hope you enjoyed this and have a good day!


	18. Newspaper-chan and the Coffee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the Phantom Thieves continue to progress through Shido's Palace, Shido begins executing a critical plot to make use of his power as Prime Minister. The Newspaper Club Member takes her investigation of SPEEDS one step further...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! So, some steady plot advancement for y'all today. Cool stuff's going on! etcetc. And this chapter will bleed straight into the next one. It's gonna be cool! and stuff. Hope you enjoy!

**12/20/2016 Tuesday Daytime**

Masayoshi Shido was sitting in his office, relishing the power he now possessed as Prime Minister of Japan. There wasn’t much for him to be doing, other than reviewing the bills he was soon set to pass— but it was nonetheless a profound and refreshing feeling to relax in this chair, knowing that he possessed such a fantastic power. He chuckled to himself quietly.

His newfound power had not accomplished much as of yet. There was, unfortunately, an order to be followed with these things, such as it was. Names had to be written down, papers signed, laws laid forth and undone. And with the Phantom Thieves dead, all that remained was to destroy them— defile them— weed out their remaining supporters.

There was only one problem… With Goro Akechi dead, as well, how was he to eliminate the remainder of his co-conspirators? Seeing as he had no…

No, he didn’t need Akechi. What was he thinking? He would simply have to use normal means, outside the realm of cognitive psience. The yakuza, or a conventional hitman. Or…

Shido’s phone suddenly rang, and he answered it.

“Hello?”

_ “Well done.” _ The voice that rang from the other end was deep and carried a blithe, obnoxious tone.

Shido coughed, in an effort to mask his displeased reaction. This man… man of sorts, that was to say— calling now, of all times. “You. What do you want?”

_ “Come now, Shido— there is no need for such hostility. I would simply like to congratulate you on your erasure of those troublesome Phantom Thieves,” _ the deep voiced man said cooly.  _ “You have done well, and come very far since we first formed our contract. It has been a rather enlightening journey. Though, the loss of the Akechi child is certainly regrettable.” _

“Yes,” Shido agreed, “it most certainly is. I am currently working to resolve the loose ends left behind by his disappearance, and my remaining collaborators.”

_ “I wish you luck on that endeavor,” _ the man of sorts said.  _ “However, I must warn you— you have not seen the last of your challengers, Masayoshi Shido.” _

Shido nearly dropped the phone.

“What do you mean by that?” he demanded. “Who remains to challenge me?!”

_ “I am afraid that is beyond my knowledge.” _

Shido scowled and huffed angrily. Surely this was naught but another of this man’s attempts to play him for a fool. He decided to ignore it.

“No matter. Is there anything else of importance?”

_ “Not particularly. I only wished to deliver those congratulations, and that warning.” _

_ In other words, _ Shido thought,  _ you called upon me to waste my time. _

“Very well. Have a pleasant day, sir.”

_ “I hope that for you as well. You shall likely be quite occupied today.” _

“What leads you to believe that?”

But the man had already hung up.

Shido sat back in his chair, annoyed by the man’s obnoxious, pointless phone call. He really hated it when that happened. The man’s services were certainly beneficial, but his insistence on making such calls was extremely exasperating. So Shido forgot about it, and promptly returned to his work.

As he continued to complete his paperwork, Masaji Kaneto suddenly burst into his office.

“Shido-san! Something strange has happened!”

Shido looked up from his paperwork, now even further annoyed. “What do you want, Kaneto?”

“The politician with whom you had allied yourself, Ooe-san, suddenly died this morning of a mental shutdown!”

“WHAT?!” Shido dropped his paperwork and bolted upwards from his seat. “How???”

“We haven’t the foggiest idea. Our only hypothesis is that there is another Metaverse user out there, besides Goro Akechi or the Phantom Thieves. But there’s no indication of who it might be, or where they are!”

Shido began pacing back and forth restlessly. “Has Ooe’s death been made public?”

“No, sir!”

“Very well. I will make a phone call to the cleaner and request that he investigate the situation. Kaneto, I shall need you to find out if Ooe has leaked any critical information of any sort. I shall handle any other important inquiries. Now, leave me at once!”

“Yes, sir!” Kaneto turned and thus left Shido’s office.

Shido stood there for a moment, quietly considering the possibility of another Metaverse user, and…  _ you have not seen the last of your challengers. _

So it seemed that his benefactor had not been messing with him.

* * *

**12/20/2016 ☀ TuESDAY Evening**

Sadayo Kawakami, stooping over to observe the content of Leblanc’s kitchen fridge, groaned. “The curry ingredients are starting to spoil…”

She picked one of Sojiro’s containers off the refrigerator shelf and opened it, then gave it a sniff…

_ sniff sniff _

“Seems like it’s still alright,” the teacher/maid decided. “May as well make a little curry before everyone else comes…”

Following the recipe exactly as Akira had relayed it to her, Kawakami opened the containers and mixed the ingredients. Then, she began to slowly stir… and stir, and stir… and… “Hmm…”

Kawakami’s curry had never quite reached the levels of greatness which Akira’s and Sojiro’s had achieved. Akira had taught her quite effectively, to be sure, and it was quite delicious regardless— but there was nonetheless much room for improvement. However, Kawakami was still very busy with school, even after quitting her job with the maid service, and found not much time to practice her skills.

She’d also not found much time to look for the Phantom Thieves, but she didn’t imagine that her assistance would make much difference. Mishima had been extremely vigilant thus far, and she wasn’t sure he needed any help. His searching hadn’t uncovered any answers, but Kawakami was certain that if there were any to be found, he’d find them.

The TV was on in the background. Kawakami looked up at it. Evidently, the subway was still being reconstructed, months after the psychotic breakdown incident…

_ Ding _

“Hello, Mishima-kun!” Kawakami said cheerfully, looking away from the TV turning around to face her student. “I made cur-”

She stopped when she saw that, as a matter of fact, it wasn’t Mishima-kun at all.

“Hello, sensei.”

It was her. The strange, solitary bespectacled child with the notebook.

The girl’s eyes were cold and neutral, and her smile seemed illegitimate.

“Um… you’re… do you belong here?”

“I’m sure I’ve got just as much right to be here as Mishima-kun,” the Newspaper Club Member said calmly, taking a seat. “Coffee, please?”

“The cafe isn’t open.”

“Well, it looks like it is. The door is unlocked, and you’re behind the counter. If it isn’t open, then what’s going on here?”

Kawakami stood for a moment, wondering how to respond to this— then proceeded to began brewing a cup.

“Thanks.”

“Who are you?”

The girl looked annoyed, but not surprised. “You may call me ‘Newspaper-chan,’ thank you.”

Kawakami stared at her with a looked of concerned suspicion in her eyes. “Right… Newspaper…chan. What do you want here?”

“I was going to ask you the same thing, sensei. This isn’t your cafe. You have no business here. Why don’t you tell me what you’re doing, exactly?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“I’m looking for a certain group of individuals to whom I believe you have a connection,” Newspaper-chan replied. “I would like to request their skills.”

“Is that so?” Kawakami looked skeptical. “Well, I can’t help you, Newspaper-chan. Please leave.”

“Isn’t that hypocritical?”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re a teacher. You’re supposed to be helping your students. Aren’t you going to help me too? Or…” She stood up from her seat and gave Kawakami a challenging stare. “Are you only going to help Mishima and Kurusu-kun?”

Kawakami was silent, surprised by this sudden hostility.

“Newspaper-chan. This isn’t—”

“And by the way, you still haven’t finished my coffee.”

* * *

**12/20/2016 ☀ TuESDAY Daytime**  
**Days Until Mental Shutdown: 5**  
**Steal Shido's Heart**  
**「Find the second letter」**  
**「Outwit Akechi」**

“What the shit?! We’re mice??” Skull yelled— squeaked?

“It appears so,” Queen murmured.

“This is prepawsterous!... or something like that!” Fox commented.

“Well,” Joker added, with a mousy smirk, “at least we have very cute paws.”

“Wait, are we squeaking? Does that mean we’re speaking mouse?!” Ace questioned. “Do odd things like this always happen to you in Palaces?”

“Yeah, this sort of thing is pretty common.” Panther replied.

“Just come back here!” Oracle called at them.

* * *

“Hey,” Joker called, “I found a teeny-tiny secret passage! I think we can fit!”

“Then let’s get the hell in there!” Skull yelled impatiently.

Joker nodded in agreement and shoved himself into the air duct. The team followed.

“It’s cramped in here!” Mona shouted, “reminds me of the school desks actually.”

“Whooooaaaa,” Skull called out, his voice bouncing off the walls. “Our voices echo…  _ yodel-lay-hay-hoo!” _

Ace winced at the noise. Skull was being extremely loud.

“Skull!” Joker yelled, “don’t do that! You’ll attract attention!”

“Why are you yodeling, anyway?” Fox asked, puzzled.

“Doesn’t it sound cool?”

“I suppose so, but—”

“It’s as Joker said, Skull,” Ace said in agreement. “I would not call that very wise.”

“We haven’t the time to be dawdling like this,” Queen told them reproachfully. “Let’s get to the other side already!”

Joker and the party emerged from the other end into the halls of the ships’ quarters. They were immediately met with an ambush from a Shadow that happened to be passing by as they emerged and returned to their normal forms. As it attacked, it transformed into a strange happy looking creature— a large snowman-like being wearing a crown and carrying a scepter.

_ “DAMN IT!” _ Joker cursed, “I should have looked before we leapt!”

“I’d say this ambush seems more like Skull’s fault!” Mona asserted. “He’s the one who yodeled!”

“Wha— no way!” Skull protested. “We were a buncha teensy mice in a vent! There’s no way this Shadow heard us!”

“Do you always argue like this?” Ace wondered. “I’d say our more important task is defeating this Shadow!”

“Easier said than done!” Queen warned. “It doesn’t appear to have any weaknesses— Sis, where are you going?!”

Joker turned to see what Queen was talking about— Ace was turning and running away. He wondered why, especially after she’d stressed the importance of winning the first. But he was more concerned with the enemy…

The snowman creature waved his scepter, and hit Panther with a Bufudyne, freezing her solid and knocking her down.

“Crap!” Oracle yelled, “Panther’s frozen! Joker, do something!”

“Queen!” Joker yelled, as he pulled out one of his other masks to combat against the Ice skills. “Toss Panther an item!”

Queen threw a Freeze Spray at Panther, instantly unfreezing her.

_ “HEE-HO, HEE-HO!” _ the Shadow cried out jovially, as it threw a Megaton Raid at Mona.

_ “OH NO YOU DON’T!” _ Mona shouted, dodging, “I’ll finish you yet!  _ Zorro… MIRACLE PUNCH!” _

But the giant snowman creature avoided the Miracle Punch, much to Mona’s great surprise. “I missed? REALLY?!”

“Maybe…” called out a familiar voice, “but… I…  _ WON’T!” _

Joker and the others turned back to see who had spoken— just as a charged sniper rifle shot came flying past them.

**_CRITICAL_ **

And with that, the Shadow was knocked down.

At the end of the hall, where the shot had come from, was Ace. Her rifle was hoisted in front of her face, and she looked plenty ready to take another shot…

Mona looked extremely annoyed. “What are you doing, stealing all my thunder?! Get back here!”

_ “AHHH!” _ shouted the enemy.  _ “HEE HO— _ please let me live, oh, have mercy, ho!”

“I implore you to join my cause!” shouted Joker, with conviction and confidence— just as Yoshida had taught him.

“Hee— you’ve convinced me— ho! I’m King Frost,” the Shadow proclaimed, “ho! I’m you and you’re me!”

King Frost dissolved into blue and transformed into a mask, which Joker snatched out of the air and placed upon his face. It dissolved away, merging with the mask that Joker was already wearing.

“Whew, that was close,” Joker said, relieved. “Thanks, Ace! Let’s keep moving!”

“Sweet!” Skull cheered. “By the way, I found a giant piece of crusty old bread lying around in my pocket. Been meaning to eat it for about three months, but it’s just too damn gross-lookin’ now. Anyone seen a trash can around here?”

Joker looked around for a second, thinking… then smirked mischievously. “Actually, I have a better idea. Skull, could you toss me that bread?”

“Um, sure…” Skull took the bread out of his pocket and tossed it to Joker, who caught it with his ever-earnest grin and dashed back where they’d come from.

“How did you still have that after being dead?” Panther asked, puzzled.

“I was going to ask the same question,” Ace agreed.

“I dunno…” Skull shrugged. “I had it, didn’t I?”

“Well, we were wearing the same clothes, when we appeared in Joker’s dream world, right?” Oracle pointed out. “I’d assume the same rules for any other items that are on our person.”

“And… uh…” Panther looked confused.

“I’d say it’s best that we not consider such things,” Fox suggested. “We should simply be grateful that escaping death is a possibility for us, and for any other odd quirks that may grant us an advantage in doing so.”

“I’d agree with you,” Noir added, “trying to figure out the reasoning behind strange trivialities is not worthwhile to us. Oh, here comes Joker!”

The team turned to see Joker, bounding down the hall excitedly, trying to hold back his laughter.

“W-what’s so funny?” Skull asked. “What’d you do with my bread?”

“I shoved it into the air duct that we just crawled through,” Joker replied, still trying to keep himself collected. “He’s not gonna get in and out as easy as we did!”

“Oh,” Queen surmised, “I see… so he’ll have to eat his way through it!”

“I can’t imagine that will be pleasant,” Fox noted thoughtfully.

“Serves him right,” Ace opined, smiling coldly.

Mona nodded eagerly. “Crafty as ever, Joker!”

“Wonderful,” Noir agreed, “then that should make it more difficult for him to catch up! Let’s move on, shall we?”

* * *

**12/20/2016 ☀ TuESDAY Daytime**  
**Days Until Change of Heart: 5**  
**Kill Shido's Shadow**  
**『Find the letters』**  
**『Outwit Joker』**

Akechi entered the passenger’s lounge from the hall, and was surprised to find himself turning into a mouse.  _ What on earth is happening… _ He looked around and began to catch his bearings… and he squeaked.

Akechi rushed to the foot of Shido’s statue and squeaked a lot more, protesting.

Statue Shido stood there, immobile and indifferent to Akechi’s mousiness.

**_SQUEAKSQUEAKSQUEAKSQUEAKSQUEAK!_ **

_ Damn you, Shido, _ Akechi thought,  _ this is what you think of me?! A rodent? _

He ceased squeaking, and looked around the room for a way out. Spotting a small air duct nearby, he entered it, hoping to find a way out. However, Akechi was met with a blockage— a hard, aging piece of bread which smelled incredibly repulsive— as though it had been rotting in a hole for many weeks.

Akechi briefly considered the curiosity of such an obstacle having appeared, but ultimately disregarded this question. How the bread had gotten in the vent was irrelevant. It only needed to be moved.

So he backed up, and, putting a fair amount of distance between the bread, and his mousy self, charged forwards… And hit his head. The bread was fairly solid, and lodged in the vent rather firmly. It would not be moved so easily. It seemed his only option was…

Akechi took a bite, and promptly spat. It was flavorless and disgusting.

He had arrived early to have an advantage, so he could prevent these kinds of situations from arising. But evidently, he had not arrived early enough.  _ Damn you, Phantom Thieves, _ Akechi thought, as he began to nibble his way through the abhorrently tasteless bread.

* * *

**12/20/2016 ☀ TuESDAY Daytime**  
**Days Until Mental Shutdown: 5**  
**Steal Shido's Heart**  
**「Find the second letter」**  
**「Outwit Akechi」**

“I didn’t think we were really going with such a simple plan…” Queen lamented.

“This seems rather childish,” Ace observed, “is it truly necessary for us to approach that man with this attire?”

“Well,” Mona pointed out, “there’s no way guys hanging by the pool would not want to check out girls in swimsuits.”

“I wanna go home…” Oracle cried.

“Are we really going to do this?” Queen asked. She was extremely reluctant, as clearly were the rest of them.

“Come on, Skull’s gonna love this,” Joker told them, grinning mischievously.

At this, Skull looked rather indignantly offended.

“Wha— no! It’s for the plan! Just— hurry up okay! He might go off somewhere!”

* * *

**12/20/2016 ☀ TuESDAY Daytime**  
**Days Until Akechi's Murder: 5**  
**Help the Phantom Thieves Stop Shido**  
**「Collect the noble's letter」**  
**「Become accustomed to Palaces」**

“I’m quite charmed to meet you, sir,” Ann said in English, speaking with a cool, pleasant British accent. “My name is  _ Ann Windsor!” _

“What?” Makoto was baffled. “Ann Windsor?! Are you…”

“Does she seriously expect him to fall for that?” Sae whispered.

The noble’s curiosity seemed to have peaked, however. “Ann Windsor? I don’t believe I’ve heard of you.”

“My father is the descendant of British royalty,” Ann fibbed proudly. “These lovely girls are the daughters of my retainers!”

Sae took a step back in an effort to obscure her presence. She didn’t think she’d be found believable as a servant, and it was already embarrassing enough to be seen in this ridiculous swimsuit… a one-piece swimsuit, to be sure, so not quite as revealing as the others. Nonetheless, she wasn’t interested in being eyed by a man as vulgar as this noble… “former” noble he was, indeed.

The conversation carried on for a short while longer…

“By the by,” Ann said politely, “about that letter of introduction… If you’d be so generous as to grant me one, I’ll consider introducing you to my father.”

“Oh? In that case, you may consider it my way of sending him my regards.” The noble stood up from his reclining position on the beach chair, reached into the pockets of his swim trunks, and retrieved the letter.

Ann accepted it graciously, and bowed her head. “Thank you kindly.”

“But my goodness, you do look great in that swimsuit!” the noble commented, his eyes moving up and down to observe Ann’s appearance. “Such an amazing body… you look like you could be a model.”

“O-oh no, I wouldn’t dream of that!” Ann replied nervously. “I could never take up such an unrefined profession…”

“Did you remember to put on sunscreen?” The noble took Ann’s hand, and she instantly recoiled.

“Um… excuse me?”

“As members of prestigious family lines… why don’t we get on more  _ intimate _ terms?”

Ann pulled away and opened her mouth to yell—

“Pardon, but don’t you think you ought to ask the girl’s father first?”

The noble turned around to see who had spoken. Sae was standing behind him, looking rather cross.

“And who might you be?”

“My name is Sae Niijima. My family is rather famous for having worked in law enforcement. We go back many generations.”

“Is that so? Well, Miss Niijima—”

“What need have you to bother Miss Windsor? I’m sure that as such a wealthy noble, you already have plenty of fine young ladies surrounding you. Why would you need another?”

The noble stopped and backed away from Ann.

“Very well, your logic is sound, Miss Niijima. Go on, all of you. Take the letter of introduction. I haven’t a need for it anyway.” The noble turned away and returned to his previous reclining position in the pool chair.

“Oh, is that so?” Haru asked. “But aren’t you one of Shido’s supporters?”

“Well, I suppose I support him financially, but I don’t bother voting in his affairs. I honestly couldn’t care less what he does. So long as I can continue comfortably relaxing by this terrifically luxuriant pool, I pay it no mind.”

“But…” Makoto wondered, “how did you get onto his ship?”

“Oh, I just introduced him to a few of my other noble friends. Had him enact a few mental shutdowns here and there, nothing terribly noteworthy.” The noble pulled out a newspaper, which bore a headline reading:  **_SHIDO-SAMA PLOTTING NEW LAWS TO OPPRESS CITIZENS OF TOKYO._ **

“Now, begone. I have no further business with you.”

* * *

**12/20/2016 ☀ TuESDAY Daytime**  
**Days Until Mental Shutdown: 5**  
**Steal Shido's Heart**  
**「Find the third letter」**  
**「Outwit Akechi」**

“He’s really that apathetic about the mental shutdowns?” Mona exclaimed in disbelief, after the team had reconvened, and the girls had changed back to their thief costumes. “That’s crazy!”

“I don’t think anyone on Shido’s ship really cares about Shido himself,” Joker commented thoughtfully. “All they do is sit around and enjoy the food, and the social events, and the comfy armchairs and whatever else…”

“So it would seem,” Queen agreed. “They don’t even know what he’s doing, or if they do, they hardly care. They’re all…”

“It’s all messed up is what it is!” Skull burst out furiously. “These guys are all sitting on their asses doing nothin’ for no one and we’re… we’re frickin’  _ dead, _ for cryin’ out loud! How dumb is that?!”

“Well, regardless,” Ace chimed in, “I’m glad that you’re all safe, and I was able to keep the situation from getting out of hand. Shall we go?”

* * *

**12/20/2016 ☀ TuESDAY Daytime**  
**Days Until Change of Bread: 5?**  
**Recover from food poisoning**  
**『Find... *cough cough*』**  
**『Outwit the bread』**

Akechi was in a safe room, hacking and coughing. He had gotten past the bread, but thereafter felt rather ill. Before long he had sensed a need to vomit, and retreated to where he was right at this moment, and prepared to hurl. He puked a piece of bread onto the floor and groaned. “Agggghhh…”

Once he was finished up-heaving the ancient food, he exited the safe room and walked downstairs to the pool deck, where he located the former noble who was said to possess the second letter of introduction. The noble was relaxing on the deck and reading a stupid-looking newspaper.

“Excuse me, sir,” Akechi said curtly, “I would like your letter of introduction.”

“A letter of introduction, you say? Who are you? Why are so many people interested in that?” The noble appeared to thoughtfully ponder this for a moment, but after a moment, shrugged and returned to reading. “Anyway, I cannot give it you, and even if I could, I would not.”

“My name is Goro Akechi. I am Masayoshi Shido’s son, sir,” Akechi said, fuming. “My father is the captain of this ship. He may wish a great misfortune upon you if my request is not met. I demand your letter, if you please.”

“Your attire is improper,” the noble replied, disregarding Akechi’s demands. “If you wish to speak to me further, I suggest you discard that inane costume and fetch yourself a swimsuit.”

Akechi snarled and pulled out his pistol.

The former noble looked up at the barrel nonchalantly. “Escalating to violence, are we?” he noted, before returning to his paper once more. “Whatever.”

Akechi considered shooting, but ultimately decided it would do him no good. The Phantom Thieves had very likely already taken the letter. This man was not worth his time. Thoroughly vexed, he holstered his pistol, walked away and then happened upon a tall tattooed man in a purple outfit. It was the face of his killer— the cleaner.

“Hey, you!” his killer’s Metaverse counterpart called out.

“What do you want?” he growled.

“Goro Akechi,” the cleaner said, rather bemused by his appearance, “so it truly is you. I hear you’ve been causin’ trouble round this place. Killed that crappy-ass politician Ooe, is that right?”

“So I did,” Akechi said curtly. “What of it, cleaner?”

“Why are you makin’ such a goddamn big mess on Shido’s ship?”

“Because I am here to kill him,” Akechi answered without hesitation.

The cleaner let out a huge, utterly derisive laugh.

“Kill?  _ Masayoshi Shido?  _ The _ captain?!” _ The cleaner continued laughing. “You’re not gonna get very far, punk.”

Akechi could not comprehend why the cleaner found this so hilarious. “I presume you will attempt to stop me?”

“To be honest,” the cleaner said, quieting down, “I don’t give a hoot. But I gotta do my job, y’know? I don’t got time to waste on a silly prankster like you, though.”

“Prankster…?!” Akechi was greatly offended. How low of an opinion did the cleaner have of him?

In reality… probably rather low, considering the accuracy of Shido’s cognitions.

The cleaner whistled and walked away casually as three huge Shadows appeared in front of him. “Take care of that idiot,” he said, “I got business elsewhere.”

Infuriated by the cleaner’s obnoxious waste of his time, Akechi called forth Loki and charged into battle against the minions.

When he was finished with defeating them, he dusted off his now very dirty face and decided to leave the Palace. Clearly, simply getting ahead of them was not working. It seemed to Akechi that he would have to confront them head on…

* * *

**12/20/2016 ☀ TuESDAY Evening**

Kawakami looked to the coffee she had been brewing. It was… certainly done more than enough.

“Here you go,” she said, placing it upon the counter at Newspaper-chan’s place. “It may be a bit strong.”

“I’m fine with that,” she replied, taking a nice, long, sip. “My mother doesn’t let me drink coffee, so any coffee whatsoever is fine by me. As long as I have a chance to experience it.” She took a curious look at it. “It tastes good, but— it needs sugar.”

Kawakami pointed to the sugar bowl that was sitting near Newspaper-chan.

“Ah. Thank you, sensei.”

Newspaper-chan took the sugar, and poured a copious amount into the coffee. She then took a sip, and smiled softly at the amended flavor. “Much better.”

“So who is this group of people you’re after? And why?”

“Well, you see… my mother. She needs a… change.”

“Change?”

“I think you know what I mean.”

Kawakami was irritated by Newspaper-chan’s crypticness, but… the young reporter was right.

“So you want them to change your mother.”

The girl nodded.

“Why?” Kawakami was now quite concerned for this girl. “Don’t you have family who can help you?”

“I…” Newspaper-chan looked suddenly downcast. She stared into her coffee…

But after a moment, blinked, and looked up at Kawakami, her eyes still cold— analyzing. Yet, behind those red lenses, there were tears.

“My family doesn’t care about me.”

She maintained her same, nuetral, tone, but— she sounded a little… angry. Heartbroken.

“That’s one thing I never admitted to having in common with Dekishi-san…”

“What? Dekishi?  _ Misako _ Dekishi? The new Student Council President? What about her?”

“She… she just…” Newspaper-chan shook her head. “No. It isn’t my business to share. I told her I wouldn’t publish anything about it.”

Kawakami wondered, what that peculiar, colorful girl had to do with any of this…

And suddenly, the door opened again.

“Kawakami-sensei!” Mishima called out. “Sorry I’m lat—”

He stopped cold when he saw Newspaper-chan.

Newspaper-chan looked at Mishima blankly…

Kawakami stood, holding a fresh plate of curry.

Suddenly, a noise was heard from the TV…

_ “And now, we’re taking a break from the regular news to bring you all a special message from our Prime Minister— Masayoshi Shido-sama!” _

All three turned to look.

_ “Greetings!” _ called out the irritated-looking Prime Minister, glaring at the camera from behind his glasses.  _ “It is I, Masayoshi Shido! I have a message tonight, to all remaining supporters of the Phantom Thieves…” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since rewriting this story, I've made a fair amount of tweaks to the characterization of both Newspaper-chan and Misako Dekishi (an OC who hasn't yet appeared in this rewrite of the story, but has been mentioned a fair bit). I recently wrote a prequel one-shot which examines both their characters, and will be held in place as relevant continuity to this story. If you're interested, you can find that [here!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12148770)
> 
> The project I mentioned last time was a little thing for the Crimson Compendium called Stranger than Phandom which you can read over [here!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12243192) I'm pretty satisfied with the pace that both this rewrite and the Compendium zine are going at, and I'm really looking forward to where both of them go.
> 
> Thank you for all your support! :)


	19. All News is Bad News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Newspaper-chan fights to maintain her calm face as her worst nightmare appears to be confirmed, while the Phantom Thieves face new obstacles in their quest to take down Shido. Sae hears hints of an upsetting secret from her past...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Cranked this chapter out fairly quick... and I already have a solid ground laid for the next one. So yeah! This is gonna be getting good. Enjoy!

**12/20/2016 ☀ TuESDAY Evening**

“Supporters of the Phantom Thieves?” Mishima wondered in confusion. “What’s the Prime Minister want with us?”

_ “The Phantom Thieves have recently died,” _ Shido began.  _ “Their identities cannot be revealed as of yet, but, you may rest assured that this great country is now safe from their menace.” _

“What?!” Mishima gasped. “No! He can’t be telling the truth! What Chihaya-san said…”

_ “However, it has come to my attention,” _ Shido stated,  _ “that, despite that, there are still citizens who have pledged support to these treacherous Phantom Thieves of Hearts. This is completely unacceptable. It is considered treason, and will be punished.” _

“Treason?!” Kawakami was rattled. “But it’s not! That’s in violation of Japan’s Constitution! What is this man thinking?”

Mishima said nothing, but continued observing the broadcast in disbelief.

Newspaper-chan took a sip of coffee, and simply sat, watching, her emotion hidden with a simple, blank expression…

_ “Any public work, image, recording, broadcast, or other manner of communication that expresses any positive messages relating to the Phantom Thieves will be condemned and erased, and the one responsible for creating it shall face grave consequences! If you are supporting these criminals, you shall be found and properly prosecuted under the law! _

_ “And now, with that said— I have a special announcement to make. The SNN is producing a television special on the Phantom Thieves, which I have graciously chosen to sponsor. We shall reveal the history behind their crimes, so that Japan is never threatened by similar groups ever again! It will be broadcast on Christmas Day, in lieu of the normal Christmas broadcast. You may look forward to it.” _

Kawakami shut off the TV.

“Is he serious?!” Mishima yelled, furious. “There’s no way he can do that!”

“I know,” Kawakami agreed, sadly, “it isn’t right. But… but he’s the Prime Minister…”

“Don’t Japan’s citizens have the right to dismiss their elected officials, if they so choose?” Newspaper-chan pointed out. “I thought that was one of the clauses in the Constitution.”

“Well, yes… but… the public did elect this man in the first place,” Kawakami said, “and since this new policy won’t affect most of them… and…” She sighed and put her hand to her face. “Oh, Kurusu-kun…”

“Oh, so Akira Kurusu is a Phantom Thief. Is that right?” Newspaper-chan turned to Kawakami, reverting to her previous interrogation mode. “I had my suspicions about him. Was he their leader who got killed in custody?”

“What’s it to you?!” Mishima shouted at Newspaper-chan. “What are you doing here, anyway? You weren’t invited!”

Newspaper-chan sighed. “Well, Mishima-kun, I’d hope you could be more accepting. I’m on your side. We’re both in the same boat here, right?”

“No!” Mishima shouted at the young reporter. “We’re not on the same side! I’m trying to help the Phantom Thieves, and you’re just trying to dissect them for your own selfish reasons! How do I know you’re not working for Shido?”

She looked shocked at this suggestion. “I-I wouldn’t—”

“I don’t even know your name!”

Newspaper-chan dropped her coffee, and the cup shattered on the floor. The girl’s emotions betraying her, her face became distorted with a mix of fury and devastation.

“You think that makes any difference?” she hissed at Mishima. “I’m an unnoticed, unimportant background character… everyone forgets me! And  _ no one _ knows my name!” She stood up, kicking aside the broken cup shards, then turned her back and ran out the door to Leblanc.

Mishima appeared rather surprised by the outburst, but said nothing.

“What a waste of coffee,” Kawakami lamented, looking down at the mess Newspaper-chan had made— although there was actually more sugar, than coffee. “Mishima-kun, you should be nicer to your peers.”

But Mishima seemed to have forgotten about Newspaper-chan, and was only looking at his phone. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing…

“Holy crap!” Mishima pressed the refresh key on his phone desperately. “N-No way!”

“Are you alright?”

“This is impossible!” Mishima continued tapping his phone screen, distressed. “The Phan-site’s been taken down!”

* * *

**12/20/2016 Tuesday Evening**

“It was completely removed, correct?” Shido said, cooly.

_ “Yes,” _ the IT specialist confirmed.  _ “There is no way to bring back that childish website. For safekeeping, we’ve stored its files on our servers, to serve as evidence when you track down that foolish child who created it.” _

“Excellent,” Shido said, smiling cooly. “Everything is going as planned. Soon, the few who remain to rebel will have their spirits broken, when they see for themselves that their precious thieves have finally been defeated.”

_ “Don’t sound so modest, Shido-san. We only made it this far because you created such an ingenious plan.” _

Shido chuckled, pleased. “Indeed that may be. But it was also because you were so easily willing to follow orders. Don’t forget that I have the most authority here…”

_ “Oh, no, I wouldn’t dream of forgetting my place, Shido-san.” _

“Good. It would not do well to do so. Remember, that I can dispose of you at any moment.”

_ “Yes. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must go attend to some important matters.” _

The IT specialist hung up. Shido’s hand had barely moved, when the phone rang, and he picked it up once again.

“Hello?”

_ “What exactly are you doing?” _ a familiar deep voice said, sounding more irritated than usual.  _ “You do not need to make such gratuitous statements to Japan. Repressing the public is my job. It was to make your own task easier. Did you forget your place?” _

“There are some that the Kurusu child befriended, who appear to have been somehow freed of your influence,” Shido said cooly. “I thought it would assist you, if I were to help eliminate them as threats.”

_ “I have not the need for your assistance!”  _ the benefactor asserted crossly.  _ “I can easily eliminate those individuals with my own power. All you are doing, Shido, is creating a disruption in order, and spawning chaos in the minds of the masses. You should be focusing on more important things, such as implementing that—” _

“Am I the Prime Minister, or are you?!” Shido yelled into the phone. “I have deemed this path to be ideal for my purposes. It would simply create suspicion against me if these individuals were to mysteriously disappear by unknown forces. And besides, I do not believe your power truly spans that far.”

There was a grumble of silence.

After a few moments, the benefactor began speaking again.

_ “I do not think you will not find this choice to serve you well, Shido,” _ he warned.  _ “Do not forget my warnings.” _

There was a cold  _ click _ as the man abruptly disconnected.

Shido sighed, quite annoyed, and returned to his work.

* * *

**12/20/2016 ☀ TuESDAY Evening**

_ Was it all for nothing? _ I wondered, as I hastily dashed back home, towards the small Shibuya apartment in which me and my mother lived.

My investigation of the Phantom Thieves, the trouble I went to tracking down Mishima and the company he kept, the trouble I went to find them… the amount of researching, asking random students where they’d seen Niijima-senpai, seen Kurusu…

After all that— they were dead? I couldn’t quite believe it. How could they have done so? Niijima getting arrested was one thing. But this…

It all seemed too contrived, somehow— but I couldn’t focus on that. I had bigger problems…

If they were dead, how was I going to change Mother? Perhaps I could stop her myself… But… how could I convince her?

How could I ever convince her that it was safe? That  _ I _ was safe? How would I stop her?

If she needed to be stopped?

Perhaps Mishima was right… Perhaps Mother was right. Perhaps I was wrong, and not being safe. Perhaps I was being selfish… self-destructive… evil…

No. This was a good thing. Even if I was being selfish, it had to be a good thing. I couldn’t be going wrong. I couldn’t. I couldn’t. I couldn’t…

I couldn’t face Mishima again. I couldn’t have anyone suspecting me. I couldn’t have Ichiko find me out. I  _ especially _ couldn’t have Mother find out that I’d been anywhere near her. And… I couldn’t be sure. I couldn’t be sure that I was right.

What if my mother didn’t need a change of heart after all?

As I pondered this, I opened the door to our apartment, and—

“You’re home late.”

“Mother, I can expla—”

“What is that on your lip?”

My mother was glaring at me, without meeting my eyes. I smoothly wiped the drop of coffee off of my lip, while concentrating my attention on her frown.

“It’s nothing, Mother.”

“Tomorrow is a school day. Go to bed.”

She looked away from me, still not meeting my eyes.

Not paying her any further mind, I turned my back to her and entered my bedroom.

* * *

**12/21/2016 ☀ WeDNESDaY Daytime**  
**Days Until Mental Shutdown: 4**  
**Steal Shido's Heart**  
**「Find the third letter」**  
**「Outwit Akechi」**

“So, we’re almost done with this floor?” Panther said hopefully.

The team had spent the past several hours dealing with a lot of squeaky business, and were all quite exhausted from the tedium of navigating these long mazes.

“It appears so,” Joker noted, “the exit is that way. Let’s hurry up and get in that elevator!”

“Marvelous!” Noir said cheerfully. “I don’t think I can take much more of being so tiny… it’s rather disturbing to see so many Shadows being so much taller than me!”

The team all rushed towards the door, excited to be done with the mousy ordeal— but all of a sudden, a familiar voice called out from behind them.

“So, Joker, you thought that was funny? Poisoning me with rotting bread?!” Akechi’s voice was extremely incensed. “How dare you impede me with such a childish obstacle!”

The team turned around apprehensively and, rooting themselves firmly to the ground, stared down their adversary who had spoken.

“I’m surprised to hear you have such standards,” Joker replied calmly, as he made a discreet signal to the rest of the team. “I can’t say that our bread trick was any more childish than your own immature, twisted motives.”

As Joker spoke, the rest of the Phantom Thieves departed the area, running past Akechi into the halls of the ship’s quarters. Akechi bared his teeth aggressively in response to Joker’s remarks.

Skull took a look back at Joker, and the two exchanged a knowing glance as the former cracked a grin and flashed a thumbs-up.

“Where are all your little friends running off to? Are they all cowards, abandoning you to die?!”

“I’d suppose not,” Joker answered snidely. “I just thought it’d be more pleasant, if this was only between you and I, Akechi. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“I’m not here to be pleasant with you!” Akechi shouted, furious. “We’re done with our chats over coffee, Akira. I’m simply here to kill you, and your little friends—  _ AGAIN! _ I did it once before, so it shouldn’t be too hard the second time around.”

“Perhaps.” Joker smirked even more than usual, laughing at his rival with his eyes. “Or perhaps not.”

“If you die a second time in the Metaverse, there won’t be any Velvet Room to save you! No dream world safety net, Joker. All I need to do is point right here…” He took out his silenced pistol and aimed straight for Joker’s forehead.

Joker was rather curious how Akechi knew about the Velvet Room— but for the time being, he had much greater concerns. Staring right down the barrel of Akechi’s firearm, he maintained his usual trickster-like confidence.

“You’ve put me in a tricky situation here, indeed,” Joker agreed. “But you’re forgetting that this is the Metaverse— where I once survived a great fall out of a glass window from nearly three stories up…”

Akechi fired.

But Joker, employing superhuman motions only available to him in the other world, expertly dodged the bullet and jumped straight over Akechi’s head, taking a moment to theatrically twirl in the air as he did so.

Before Akechi could even grasp what had happened, Joker was standing right behind him, making a smart, suave pose.

“Come and get me—  _ Crow!” _

Joker dashed into the halls, and Akechi, moving speedily as well, chased after him, repeatedly firing his pistol as he did so.

“Joker,” called Skull in his ear, “I’ve made it to the switch. Give the signal when you’re ready!”

“Roger that,” Joker whispered back, dodging further fire from Akechi. “Is everyone else okay?!”

Everyone else confirmed their positions.

“You all blindfolded them?”

“We did,” Queen confirmed. “They’re all blindfolded— except the designated one.”

“Are you certain that this plan will work?” Ace inquired anxiously.

“Pretty sure!” Oracle said, eagerly. “It’s all up to you to trap him, Joker!”

Joker looked ahead into the chosen room, where there was but a single statue of Shido watching over it. He dashed inside, turning his head to look back at Akechi, who was still furiously chasing him.

Then, he made it past the doorway, and began to close the door behind him.

Akechi furiously rammed against the closing door, trying to stop Joker from closing it. “You aren’t going to escape that easily!” he shouted.

“All right, Skull,” Akira said, as he pushed against the door, fighting Akechi’s efforts to push it open, “Hit that switch  _ NOW!” _

A loud noise was heard, and a faint light flashed from inside the room.

Joker closed the door, being met with no further resistance as Akechi shrank. He smiled triumphantly, as many outraged, angry squeaks were heard from within. With his task complete, he left the room behind, took an alternative route back to the exit.

* * *

“Great teamwork, everyone!” Joker cheered, high-fiving all his teammates when they reconvened at the exit. With the Shido statues blindfolded, unable to see them as mice, making it back there was but a simple task.

“But won’t Akechi be stuck in that room forever?” Panther wondered.

“Nope,” Joker answered. “And when he gets out, he won’t be happy. We’d better move out before a Shadow or one of Shido’s passengers open that door.”

“I’m relieved that your plan worked, Joker,” Ace told him. “I was afraid to see what would happen if we failed to entrap him.”

“Well, it’s best not to dwell on what might have happened,” Queen pointed out. “That won’t help us very much.”

“Yes,” Noir agreed, “we shouldn’t worry too much about failure. Let us continue onwards, shall we?”

“Yeah,” Skull panted, tired out from running. “That took a lot of wind outta me… why don’t we take a break in a safe room?”

“Yo, hold up!” a rather intimidating voice called out.

The Phantom Thieves turned around, to see a rather strange and unrefined man, wearing a purple shirt and several unusual tattoos.

“Oh, hi there!” Joker said cooly. “I don’t believe we’ve met, sir. How’s the weather treating you on this fine day?”

“I don’t give a shit about the weather!” the tattooed man said, annoyed. “Where d’you punks think you’re going? And who the hell are you anyway?!”

“Who the hell are  _ you?!” _ Skull retorted.

The man scowled at being talked back to. “That ain’t none of your beeswax! Now, I hear you punks’ve been making quite a mess around here. What’s the big idea? Are you workin’ with that Akechi kid?”

“Akechi?” Joker was quite amused by this assumption. “Not at all. He and I have some very different philosophies.”

“Don’t talk to me about philosophy,” the man said roughly, “I ain’t interested in that crap!”

“Then why’d you even ask?!” Oracle protested. “You’re not making any sense!”

Ace stepped forward. “Would you by any chance happen to be the cleaner?”

The man looked quite surprised at being recognized. “Well well, you’re well-informed, missy! Matter of fact, I am. Are you the guardian for these kids?”

“I suppose I am,” Ace said thoughtfully. “Are we causing a problem?”

“Well, no, not ‘xactly,” the cleaner supposed. “I mean, not for me. I don’t really care what goes on here, so long as it doesn’t concern me. Unfortunately, your kids’re causing a bit of a ruckus on Captain Shido’s ship, and that concerns Captain Shido. And whatever concerns Captain Shido, concerns me.”

“These children have business with Shido,” Ace told the cleaner. “The only reason we’re running about his ship is to acquire his letters of introduction. If gaining an audience with him were easy, this would be a much simpler matter. I don’t suppose you could help us?”

“Letters of introduction, huh?” The cleaner looked fairly interested. “As a matter of fact, I do got one a those… But I ain’t gonna give it to just anyone!” He looked at Ace curiously. “Say, you remind me of someone…”

“Oh, is that so?” Ace inquired. “Who would that be?”

“Some fella I met about… seven years ago? Smooth talker, like you. Not too shabby either.”

“Seven years…” Ace gasped as a thought dawned on her. “What was his name?!”

“Well,” the cleaner supposed, “Maybe I’ll tell ya… if you can beat these guys!” He snapped his fingers, and several Shadows suddenly appeared. “And maybe I’ll give y’all my letter, too, if you can catch up to me. But I got other business, so I’ll see you and your kids later!” He smiled, appearing rather interested, and walked away. “Clean those punks up!” he yelled at the men.

“Oh, come on!” Skull yelled, taking his battle stance. “You ain’t gonna fight us yourself?”

“Come back here!” Ace shouted. “I wasn’t done talking with you!”

“What a rather unmannered fellow!” Noir noted, as she called for Astarte and promptly attacked the Shadows. They were easily defeated within moments.

“Sis…” Queen sounded concerned. “What exactly were you questioning the cleaner about?”

Ace took a few, deep, heavy breaths.

“Seven years… No, it couldn’t be…”

“What?” Skull asked, confused. “What the hell’s going on with you, Ace?”

Joker looked on, quiet and worried. “What are you…”

Ace took another breath.

“It’s nothing…” She stood up, and regained her composure. “We should continue on, everyone.”

* * *

“I am Okumura Haru,” Noir informed the president politely, “the heiress to and daughter of the president of Okumura Foods. I believe we’ve sponsored you as well. Might I have a letter of introduction to Shido?”

“Oh,” the TV Station President said, rather amused by her request, “you’re her? But, didn’t you kill yourself? Aren’t you a Phantom Thief?”

“That…” Noir’s speech faltered, and her hands shook anxiously.

“This doesn’t look good,” whispered Ace, “should we intervene?”

“No, don’t start anything yet,” Joker warned cautiously. “So far Noir seems to be keeping her cool. Let’s let her to talk her way through this first.”

“That hardly matters,” Noir continued, regaining her composure. “I am not here to talk about silly rumors, but to discuss business. And as for the Phantom Thief nonsense, that is utterly baseless slander.”

“I see…” the TV Station President straightened his tie. “It’s true that I am quite indebted to President Okumura. He funded us extremely well, after all…”

Noir and the President continued discussing matters for a few moments longer - relating to her father, and his death - and she was clearly very nervous, but continued pressing her initial request and eventually obtained the letter.

“Thank you…” she said, trying her best to sound sincerely grateful, “very much.”

It was quite clear that she wanted to get this conversation over with as soon as possible.

“All right, we did it!” Skull whispered. “Let’s get out of here!”

“Hang on,” Panther cautioned. “Don’t so so hasty. He’s not done talking, and Noir can’t just up and leave him…”

“But my,” the President said sardonically, “your father truly was a fool.”

Noir froze, startled. “Uh - I’m sorry?”

“He could’ve lived a life of luxury if only he did what he was told. You know— I’m the one who broadcast the moment of his mental shutdown! And your suicide… my, was that quite the story! Our rating increased tenfold! The Okumura family scandals are gifts that keep on giving…” The TV Station President laughed. And laughed and laughed and laughed…

“This is bad!” Queen whispered, “she needs to pull out of this now!”

“No,” Skull told her, “it’s too late for that… he insulted her family.” He cracked his knuckles in anticipation. “This guy’s got it comin’...”

“Stop it.”

“Hmm?”

“How,” Noir said slowly, deliberately, the anger in her voice slowly rising, “could you talk about my father’s death like that…”

“Oh? That’s just business. If you like, we could get you in a documentary… ‘Family company recovering from deaths of both father and daughter…’ splendid thought. You’re so cute you just might get good ratings!”

He then began laughing and laughing like a madman…

Noir’s face became redder and redder, her angered scowl wider…

She spoke again, her voice exploding with fury this time:

**_“I WILL NOT FORGIVE YOU FOR THAT!!! YOU HAD BETTER APOLOGIZE!”_ **

The TV station president stood up, still laughing, black smoke emitting from his feet—

“Time to save her!” Mona said, and the team rushed forth into battle.

“Are you…  _ THIEVES?! _ I’m such a fool… the ‘baseless slander’ was true! You will regret deceiving me!”

* * *

They didn’t regret deceiving him.

After a short, but satisfying beatdown, the TV station president was defeated, and the team swiftly stole his letter.

“Okay,” Noir said, sounding rather worn out. She glared weakly at the TV station president, then turned to the team. “One step closer… Two more letters… and then we can take down Shido.”

“Ahahahaha…” the TV station president chuckled. “None of this will do you any good. You’re already too late…”

“Too late?” Joker spun around to face him. “What are you talking about?”

“Well… I suppose I may as well tell you, since you’re already dead.” The TV president smiled. “Even if you should defeat Shido, you’ll be publicly revealed and disgraced… He’s sponsored the production of a television special that will expose your true criminal natures, and leave you more defeated than any defeat possible!”

_ “WHAT?!” _ Skull yelled, not believing it. “That bastard… it ain’t enough for him to kill us? He’s gotta make a frickin’ TV show about us?! How the hell are we gonna stop that?”

Joker’s eyes were infused with fury and steel…

“We’re gonna stop it,” he affirmed confidently. “You’re a rotten liar— you and Shido both. We’re not going to let you get away with telling the entirety of Japan a lie like that about us!”

The TV station president simply laughed some more, as though Joker had said something utterly hilarious.

“That’s not possible! There’s no way to prevent it. You can’t stop a nationwide broadcast!”

“Just ignore him.” Joker turned around, and began to walk away, unfazed. “Come on. We’re going back.”

The Phantom Thieves all turned around to follow him. Joker held his head high, a determined frown on his face, as the TV station president continued laughing derisively behind them.

* * *

**12/24/1998 ☃ THuRSDAY Daytime**

It was a deep, mellow night before Christmas. Young Sae Niijima was sitting by the fire, warming her hands— which were wet and cold from playing outside in the snow. Her chestnut-colored eyes were filled with sweet, childlike excitement.

After thoroughly drying one of her hands, she fished around inside her pocket and pulled out her report card from the end of the school term. It was wet and slimy, from having been carried through the cold, wet weather. But little Sae handled it carefully, as if it were a priceless treasure.

Taking yet another look at it, she smiled.

Perfect scores.

“I’m going to be just like my father,” she affirmed, whispering to herself with a confident smile. “I’m going to be a police officer…”

“What’s this about me, now?”

Sae turned her head sheepishly. “Oh! Dad! You heard that?”

“I did, Sae,” Sadao confirmed, smiling at her proudly. He took a look at her report card. “Just remember, grades aren’t everything. You’ll need all kinds of practice. There are lots of things they don’t teach you in school, sweetheart.”

Sae nodded firmly, beaming at her father. “Practice. Got it!”

Smiling even more, Sadao tousled Sae’s hair playfully.

As this interaction was taking place, the door opened, and Yuriko Niijima entered the room…

“Oh!” Sae turned around to face her. “Hi, Mom!”

“Oh, Yuriko!” Sadao seemed quite surprised. “You’re home a little early!”

Yuriko smiled at her family, nodding, her long brown hair floating about. “We were done at the hospital a lot sooner than the doctors expected.”

“Hospital?!” Sae gasped, appearing frightened. “Mom, are you okay? Did something happen to you?”

Yuriko suddenly looked staggered, as she realized what she’d just said. “Oh… oh, I shouldn’t have… Uh… I’m sorry, Sadao— I ruined it! What should we…”

“It’s okay. No harm done.” Sadao turned to Sae, with an eager look in his eyes. “I was itching to tell her anyway.”

“Tell me what?” Sae took on a scandalous look. “Mom! Dad! What were you hiding from me? What happened to Mom?!”

The Niijima parents both looked rather amused by Sae’s apprehensive reaction.

“We were going to wait to tell you until tomorrow,” Yuriko began nervously, “But…”

“You’re getting a baby sister!” Sadao finished.

Yuriko glared at him for interrupting. “Please, Sadao…”

“Oh…”

Sae’s face was blank for a moment.

Yuriko looked concerned. “Come on! I was going to say it slowly. Now you’ve gone and upset her!”

“Yuriko, dancing around the point won’t do any good. If we’re going to tell her, we should tell her—’

_ “Really?!” _

Yuriko and Sadao turned in surprise.

A thoroughly enthused, enormous smile had found its way onto Sae’s face.

“That’s so exciting!” Sae cheered, leaping up and down and dropping the report card that she had been handling so delicately mere minutes ago. “I can’t wait! I can’t wait to meet her and talk to her and tell her all about— Oh, and I hope she’s beautiful like you, Mom!”

Yuriko beamed at her daughter. “I hope she is too.”

“See?” Sadao said to his wife teasingly. “I told you there was nothing to worry about.”

“Oh, you shut up,” Yuriko returned quietly, still smiling.

* * *

**12/21/2016 ☀ WeDNESDaY Daytime**  
**Days Until Akechi's Murder: 4**  
**Help the Phantom Thieves Stop Shido**  
**「Discover cleaner's connection to father」**

_ Seven years… _

Seven years since Sae had last seen him…

Seven years, since she had been forced to fight to take custody of her baby sister.

Sae sat at the counter in the dream Leblanc, reflecting on that time. Those seven years, since she had had to give up her dream of taking after her father, and instead become a prosecutor…

What did the cleaner have to do with it? If, that was to say, he had anything to do with it. Perhaps it was simply coincidence…

_ No. _ This all went back to  _ Shido. _ This abominable, power-hungry man who had the lives of so many people under his thumb. And here Sae was, trying to stop him. It was all too much to call a coincidence. Shido was behind everything… He had to be.

“Sis?”

Sae turned her head to face her baby sister.

“Makoto… er…”

“I wanted to tell you—”

“Makoto, I’m really tired right now…”

Makoto stopped, as she seemed to recall the day’s earlier events—

“Are you thinking about… Dad?”

Sae nodded in confirmation.

“What the cleaner said,” Makoto started, trying to sound reassuring, “it doesn’t mean that—”

“Please. I need time to process this.”

There was a cold, tense, beat of silence.

“Right. Okay.”

Makoto turned and walked up the stairs…

* * *

**12/21/2016 ☀ WeDNESDaY Daytime**  
**Days Until Mental Shutdown: 4 **  
**Steal Shido's Heart**  
**『Prevent airing of television special』**

Makoto hoped her sister was okay. So much stuff had happened…

She could see Sae, looking nervous, cautious in every moment that they were infiltrating Shido’s Palace. It was clear that she was unsure. Still uncomfortable with coming to realize all of this… that the ideals and laws on which she had built her life had been flawed, and seeing them directly contradicted.

Makoto supposed that was what came of being an adult. Finding yourself unable to easily break from a world that you had been grounded in for so long. Not something that teenagers often had to struggle with.

But that wasn’t even what Makoto had wanted to talk about.

She’d wanted to talk about Akira…

* * *

**12/21/2016 ☀ WeDNESDaY Evening**  
**Days Until Change of Heart: 4**  
**Kill Shido's Shadow**  
**『Find the letters』**  
**『Outwit AND KILL! Joker』**

“Excuse me!” Akechi yelled at the TV station president. It had been many hours before someone had opened the door to that room, allowing him to finally make an escape. He was thoroughly infuriated at having been made a fool of again…

“Who are you?” the Station President said, puzzled, before recognizing— “oh, that voice— Goro Akechi! Where are all these dead people coming from, I wonder?”

“Your letter of introduction! Hand it over at once if it is on your person!”

“Oh, I am afraid I do not have it, and thus cannot help you. However, I must say this would make for a  _ truly sensational _ broadcast! ‘Ace Detective harasses head of media!’”

“You are a simple cognition!” Akechi growled, “You are in no place to make such claims!”

“Oh, you think so?” the TV President was now very angered. “Go at once or I shall call for security!”

Concluding his efforts here useless, Akechi simply shot out the slot machine on which the man had been gambling and left.

“How dare you destroy that slot machine!” yelled the TV station president. “I’ll have you reported to the Captain for your petty vandalism!”

_ I’ll need to beat them to the next one… _

* * *

“How dare you destroy that slot machine!” yelled the TV station president. “I’ll have you reported to the Captain for your petty vandalism!”

Goro Akechi simply walked away, ignoring the man’s yells of protest. Soon enough, he disappeared up the stairs.

The TV station president sighed, exasperated, and turned to another slot machine to continue his gambling. But within a few short moments, he was interrupted by a tap on the shoulder…

He turned around. It was Goro Akechi. Except— it looked different. It was wearing his normal detective outfit, instead of the strange colorful costume he had been adorned with a moment ago.

“You again! What do you want this time? Did you just change your clothes?”

“Good day. It is my great regret to inform you that Captain Shido has ordered you be cast off his ship. Now that the television program has been produced, your services are no longer required.”

“Excuse me?!”

“This shall be justice served,” Akechi went on in a strange, flat tone as it raised its pistol, “for sensationalizing the lies that Shido and I told, and the broadcasts of the countless mental shutdowns which were filmed by your employees.”

“What?! But— Shido ordered those broadcasts! What are you talking about?”

The strange other Akechi then shot the TV station president straight in the face.

Screaming, he became smoke and vanished…

The cognitive Akechi’s face was cold, blank, and lifeless. It turned, leaving behind the site of the murder, and set off to return to its master.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing particular to say today. Well, except, I dunno what that last bit was for, but I suddenly came up with it, wanted to write it and it was fun. Thanks for reading, see you all next time! :)
> 
> EDIT: Forgot one thing. Like Sadao, the name Yuriko also comes from [Vivvav's Makoto Week story.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12135798)


	20. Apathy of the Scribe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My chapter summaries have been getting a bit weaker, kinda forcing them, so. No summary today.
> 
> Chapter titles are easier than story titles.

**12/21/2016 ☀ WeDNESDaY Early Morning**

As I entered Shujin the next day, I overheard a conversation taking place between several other students…

_ “Did you hear? The Prime Minister announced that the Phantom Thieves are dead!” _

_ “D’you think they were executed? Like, put to death?” _

_ “Maybe. I wouldn’t be surprised!” _

_ “But wouldn’t that have made the news? A trial for the Phantom Thieves would be hard to keep away from the media.” _

_ “Well… maybe there wasn’t a trial! Maybe they were just killed right away!” _

_ “I don’t think that’s legal…” _

I paid no further mind to this conversation, but soon heard some others as I made my way to class…

_ “So what about that television special?!” _

_ “How are the Phantom Thieves dead?” _

_ “Were they arrested?” _

_ “Say… wasn’t Niijima-senpai arrested, before she was expelled?” _

_ “We never found out why…” _

_ “Oh! It was like, a day or two after their leader killed himself, wasn’t it?” _

_ “I bet she was a Phantom Thief! That would explain everything!” _

_ “Yeah! She must have been a Phantom Thief! This totally proves it!” _

Being the expert school journalist that I am, I knew full well that that did  _ not _ prove it at all. Nonetheless, the fact that their conjecture was correct despite lacking much evidence to back it up was… disturbing. As was the fact that everyone had so readily swallowed Shido’s claims…

This was bigger than me, or my mother, or Ichiko. And there was also Shido saying that anyone supporting the Phantom Thieves would be arrested for treason.

One thing I’ve learned about the student body of Shujin— despite hardly bothering to socialize with most of them during my time here —was that gossip spread fast. This held true today, the same as any other day.

It did not take long for the whole school to be swept with the rumor that Makoto Niijima— the previous Student Council President —was dead, and had been a Phantom Thief. The faculty did not comment on the rumor, nor confirm it to be true. I had no interest in volunteering my knowledge, either. I never want any part in the school’s gossip— I simply observe. This was no different.

I was afraid, however, that I would be forced to admit what I knew. But hopefully, this would not be a problem, so long as no one ever discovered that I had been present at the time that Niijima had been arrested.

What had I gotten myself wrapped up into? I’d never wanted to make myself a potential target like this…

* * *

**12/21/2016 ☀ WeDNESDaY After School**

The student council president didn’t come to the student council meeting that day.

Well, that isn’t entirely accurate. She  _ did _ come, but by the time she arrived, her appearance was completely pointless.

“Hello, Dekishi-san,” I greeted, as I exited the student council room, finding her by the door. “You’re late. What happened?”

Misako Dekishi— the odd, colorful girl who had succeeded Makoto Niijima as student council president following her arrest —looked away from me, distant and quiet. This was especially strange. Dekishi-san was usually quite talkative and amiable— though in the presence of Niijima, she would often gather an air of hostility. Either way, she wasn’t one to be quiet.

It was clear to anyone, however, that since Niijima’s arrest, her energy had become more and more stunted… and today it was quite clearly at its lowest point.

“I’m… okay. It’s just… my parents…”

It was now that I took notice of Dekishi-san’s usually short green hair, which she had cut last year out of love and admiration for Niijima-senpai. It had gotten longer, now reaching towards the end of her neck. Apparently, she hadn’t cut it in a short while.

“My parents tried to set me up with some snobby rich guy…”

“Oh. I see.”

I nodded, pretending to understand. I knew that wasn’t it, but I decided to say no more. Pursuing this subject would evidently yield no information useful to me, and only upset Dekishi-san further.

“Anyway, I suppose I need to refresh you on what happened in the meeting—”

“Yes, please.” Dekishi-san seemed all too eager to move on. “Did we make any progress on—”

“Hey!”

I turned around. “Excuse me, I’m having a conversation with— oh…”

Mishima-kun seemed quite cross.

“Hey!” Dekishi-san protested, rather annoyed. “Why are you interrupting me and Newspaper-chan? This better be good, Mishima-kun. Make it quick!”

Mishima looked equally irritated to be told off by the student council president, but ignored her and faced me. “Why were you there last night?” he demanded. “And what do you know about the true identities of the Phantom Thieves? What are you trying to do?!”

At the mention of the Phantom Thieves, Dekishi’s face began to turn a little red…

“I’m afraid I only know as much as you do,” I answered simply. “The Phantom Thieves are missing, were allegedly apprehended and/or killed, and Makoto Niijima was possibly one of them.” I gave Mishima a shrewd, knowing look. “I think both you and I know the answer to that particular mystery.”

I heard footsteps behind me, and slightly turned my head. Dekishi-san was running away, her face buried in her hands.

“Is she alright?” Mishima wondered, as the student council president disappeared into the halls.

“This is a particularly personal case for Dekishi-san.” I decided it was best to change the subject before he asked any more questions. “I’d like us to return to the matter at hand, if you please.”

Mishima looked confused. “Okay… so, why are you interested in them?”

“Because I need their help. Why are  _ you _ interested in them?”

Mishima looked taken aback at having his question redirected back to him. “Because I’m a Phan… And…”

“That’s not all, is it?”

He took a deep, calculated breath…

“No. I… I know them.”

“Kurusu?”

“Yeah.”

“He’s the leader?”

“Yeah.”

“He’s the one who died in custody?”

Mishima said nothing for a solid ten seconds.

“He was, wasn’t he?” I gave him a cold look. “You know, he was talking to me too. Asking me questions about what I thought of the Phantom Thieves. If they existed or not. Were they just or unjust. Were they innocent or… guilty. And I…”

“You what?”

I spoke slowly, and quietly, as I contemplated what my words meant.

“I don’t actually care about any of that,” I affirmed, deciding there was no longer a point in denying this. “I don’t care how they change hearts, if they’re bad, or good, or if they caused mental shutdowns or not. I don’t care what Shido says about them, or if my even saying this is against the laws of his new regime. All I know is that they got results… and I want to see those results.”

Mishima looked stunned by my words. “Then why did you…?”

“Because I suspected for a long time, ever since Kamoshida, that Kurusu was connected to them. I told him what I thought he would want to hear.”

“But what about… what about all the people they were trying to save?” Mishima looked baffled, and his voice took on a disbelieving tone. “What about Japan? If they’re really dead, and it’s because of Shido, then we’re screwed— aren’t we?!”

I stared at him blankly.

“What about my Phan-site?!” Mishima carried on. “It got deleted out of nowhere, all because of the Prime Minister! How do you know that—”

“I don’t care,” I insisted, turning my back to him and walking away. “If they’re dead, I’ll just have to do something else to save myself. As long as I still have this,” I held up my notebook, “I do not care what happens to me.”

“If you don’t care what happens, then why do you want to change this person’s heart?”

This stopped me cold.

_ Wait a moment… why do I care? _

“What kind of journalist are you?!” Mishima yelled. “You’re supposed to be helping people! Helping find out the truth! Aren’t you?”

I opened my notebook, looked away from Mishima-kun, and quietly began to write…

“What are you writing in that notebook?” Mishima demanded. “Is it important? Why don’t you show it to everyone?!”

_ “It’s none of your business!” _ I shouted at him furiously, turning back to face him.

He stood dumbstruck for a second…

“Well… What I’m doing isn’t your business either…” He turned away from me. “I know a journalist like you. Except she actually cares. If you really don’t care, don’t let me see you there again, Newspaper-chan…”

I stood quietly for a moment, wondering what to say to this…

No. There was nothing I could say.

So I stopped writing…

And left.

Mishima was right.

Ichiko actually cared. And I was nothing like her.

Not like how I had dreamed I’d be as a child… when I’d still had hope.

* * *

**12/21/2016 Wednesday Evening**

Shido had been very busy drafting up some important documents, and was not pleased to have been interrupted by this phone call at such an inconvenient time.

“Yes, Kaneto, what is it this time?!”

_ “Shido-san,” _ Masaji Kaneto said nervously,  _ “There is an urgent matter which you must be informed of at once! It is very urgent!” _

“Stop blabbering and tell me what has happened!” Shido barked into the receiver, irritated by his secretary’s seeming inability to ever get to the point.

_ “Right; my humble apologies, sir! In any case, the TV station president has died by mental shutdown!” _

“Oh, has he?” Shido’s previous irritation instantly melted away, and he smiled deviously. “Then, my plan has worked. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.”

_ “What? But Shido-san! What about your television special for the Phantom Thieves? Didn’t you need—” _

“No.” Shido was now calm, collected, and very pleased. “I had no need for him once it had been produced and scheduled. He is no longer a liability, and thanks to my success here, I now know for certain that whoever has entered my Palace will soon meet their doom.”

Kaneto was silent for a moment. But then— no longer panicked, but still puzzled —he inquired:

_ “Shido-san… How are you causing mental shutdowns without the use of Goro Akechi?” _

“It is a rather complex process of controlling one’s cognition,” Shido stated simply, as though it was as mundane as what he had eaten for breakfast. “Not something you need be concerned with, Kaneto. You may return to work.”

_ “Y-Yes, sir!” _

Shido hung up the phone, and kicked back in his chair, still looking ever so pleased with himself.

Now that his Palace was sufficiently secured, he no longer needed to fear of whatever interloper had killed Politican Ooe coming after him.

* * *

**12/21/2016 ☀ WeDNESDaY Evening**

_** MISSING **_

_ Akira Kurusu _

_ Scrawny sixteen year-old boy, black hair, cosmetic glasses. Student of Shujin Academy. Disappeared on 11/20, friends are extremely worried. _

_ Please call _

_** YUUKI MISHIMA 555-9435 **_

Above this text, was a picture of Akira, with a blank expression upon his face. Mishima had been putting up these posters everywhere… Shibuya, Harajuku, Shinjuku, Kanda, Akihabara, and was now focusing on Yongen-Jaya.

Everyday Mishima had wandered Tokyo, maintaining the presence of these posters, but no one had responded.

Was everyone as apathetic and detached as Newspaper-chan? Did they all only care about the Phantom Thieves for their own selfish reasons? So that all the worst hearts closest to them could be changed?

It wasn’t something Mishima wanted to believe. He hoped that people actually cared about what the Phantom Thieves were trying to do. Reform society. But after all their work… here was society. Did no one care about the fate of the world at large?

He sighed. It didn’t matter. In fact, that was exactly why he ought to continue. If no one but him cared about the fate of society…

“Then I’m going to fight till the very end,” he whispered to himself.

Mishima’s smartphone beeped, and he abandoned the missing posters for a moment, placing them by his side and retrieving his phone.

It was the SPEEDS group chat.

**Hifumi:** Mishima-kun, have you had any luck?

No… I didn’t find anything. But I’m not giving up…

**Kawakami:** You’d best be careful. I hear there are a lot of police swarming the downtown area. If they find you doing anything…

**Iwai:** Yeah, this ain’t cool. Way more cops. Keep stopping me on the street to ask a bunch of dumbass questions about what I got in my bags.

**Yoshida:** I haven’t had a problem with the police. They seem to leave me alone when I’m giving my speeches in Shibuya, although it does make me a little nervous to see them.

How many people are showing up to your speeches?

**Yoshida:** Not very many. In fact, my audience seems to be shrinking.

**Chihaya:** So it’s coming true…

**Kawakami:** What’s coming true?

**Chihaya:** The cards said this might happen. That the masses would recede into a slothful slumber.

Mishima sighed.  _ So I’m not the only one who thinks so… _

After a moment, he typed into the chat:

Let’s meet tomorrow and discuss things.

**Hifumi:** Very well. I'll see you all at Leblanc tomorrow. Good night.

**Ohya:** Heyyyy! What are we talking about?!

Before Mishima could finish typing a response, Ohya almost immediately sent another, implausibly long, message:

**Ohya:** So I heard about this Shido prick babbling on the tv about Phantom Thieves and then my boss said I couldn’t write anything about them anymore or else we’d be in huge trouble with the goverment :0 O.O  >:( -_- BOOO…

**Takemi:** Are you intoxicated again? I warned you that your liver wasn’t going to last long if you kept it up.

**Ohya:** IDC YOURE NOT MY DOCTOR!!!!

**Takemi:** I’m everyone’s doctor, Ohya-san.

Mishima sighed and put away his phone.

* * *

“What the hell is it this time?!” the cleaner wondered, looking at the broken slot machine, thoroughly agitated by the vandalism Akechi had left behind in his wake. “I’ve got enough trouble to deal with as it is with that damn Akechi and those Phantom Thieves. Who made this mess?”

“Seems like the TV station president was killed by Akechi,” one of the cleaner’s fellow yakuza said matter-of-factly. “Judging by what we’ve heard. But it wasn’t the Akechi we know.”

“What d’ya mean by that?”

“He talked real slow. Seemed real ambivalent about the whole damn thing. And he was wearin’ a different outfit.”

“Huh, weird,” the cleaner mused. “You know what… he must’ve been a fake Akechi. One of Captain Shido’s cronies.”

The other yakuza looked rather intrigued. “So Captain Shido ordered that guy’s hit himself?”

“Could be.”

"Wonder why he'd do that?"

The cleaner turned and started walking up the stairs, shrugging. “So long as it ain't our problem, Captain Shido's reasons don't matter to us. We got work to do. Let’s get on with it.”

* * *

**4/23/1999 ☀ FRiDAY Afternoon**

Little Sae was jittery with excitement.

She’d been waiting for her parents to come home nearly all day, waiting, so she could meet her new baby sister. Sae wondered what she would be like. Would she be a little ball of energy? Or quiet, sleeping…

Well, of course she’d be sleeping. Babies slept a lot.

Sae quietly fidgeted, watching the door and waiting…

However, she soon got bored, and fell asleep.

* * *

“Sae! Wake up!”

“Mrmmm…”

Sae slowly opened her eyes.

**4/23/1999 ☀ FRiDAY Evening**

“Hey, sleepyhead!” Sadao said with a laugh, gently shaking Sae to her senses. “Your sister’s home!”

“What? Oh!” Sae immediately opened her eyes wide, jerking herself upright, her reddish-brown hair bouncing energetically as she realigned herself. “She’s here?!”

Yuriko turned to Sae and held out the baby. She was small, had shining crimson eyes, and deep brown hair…

“Say hello to Makoto!”

As Sae had predicted, Makoto was sleeping soundly in Yuriko’s arms. Sae reached out, and gently tousled her sister’s hair.

“Hello, Makoto…”

* * *

**4/23/2000 ☀ SuNDAY Afternoon**

“The time has come!” Sadao said cheerfully as he entered the dining room, carrying a small birthday cake with a single lit candle perched atop it. “Time for our birthday girl to blow out the candle!”

“Sadao!” Yuriko said reproachfully. “We can’t let Makoto near an open flame like that!”

“It’s a small flame, she’ll be fine!”

“She could burn her nose!”

“But it’s her first birthday! We should—”

“I’ll do it!”

The two Niijimas turned to their elder daughter, who was sitting next to the birthday girl.

“I’ll blow out Makoto’s candle for her!” Sae insisted, beaming eagerly. “I’m old enough, aren’t I, Dad?”

Sadao smiled at his daughter. “That’s my girl.” He put the cake in front of Sae and gave her a sly wink. “Careful not to burn your nose, okay?”

“Okay!” Sae nodded and pulled her baby sister into her lap. “Makoto, make a wish for something. Wish for something good!”

Makoto stared at the lit candle curiously, and slowly clapped her tiny hands.

Sae took a deep breath and blew out the candle.

Yuriko beamed at them, and Sadao nodded approvingly.

“Told you no one’s nose would burn.”

Yuriko made a pretend annoyed face at him. “Oh, you shut up…”

* * *

**12/22/2016 ☀ THuRSDAY Daytime**  
**Days Until Mental Shutdown: 3 **  
**Steal Shido's Heart**  
**『Locate IT President』**

Ace laughed. It was the first time in a long time Queen had heard her laugh, and the first time any of the other Phantom Thieves had heard her laugh. It was an energetic, melodic laugh, almost like a song.

“Sis?” Queen spoke cautiously, not used to this side of Ace showing itself. “Are you alright? Your mood seems… to be…”

“I thought it was funny,” Ace replied, looking as if she had just grown younger by several years, “that Fox was considering painting us as mice.”

“How is that funny…” Fox shook his head in great disappointment. “My art is not meant to be amusing.”

“Well, to some people it’s just that,” Joker told him, “you can’t really tell them how to judge it. That’s on them. And you, I guess, to communicate the right message as best you can.”

“I see… so perhaps simply mentioning us as mice is the wrong message,” Fox mused. “I thought it would be an interesting way to depict helplessness in the face of something bigger, yet hopefulness that it can be conquered… how might I achieve that?”

“I would be very interested to see this painting,” Noir contributed.

“I don’t know, dude,” Skull said, laughing, “but like, we gotta keep goin’ on for now.”

“Yeah,” Mona agreed. “Fox, you can discuss your art more later.”

The Phantom Thieves thus proceeded onwards, leaving Queen quietly wondering at the sharp transformation her sister had so quickly undergone.

* * *

**12/22/2016 ☀ THuRSDAY Daytime**  
**Days Until Mental Shutdown: 3**  
**Steal Shido's Heart**  
**「Find the fourth letter」**  
**「Outwit Akechi」**

The team rushed back into the hallways of the ship’s lower port quarters and rushed on to the exit...

“Hey, hold it right there, punks!”

The Phantom Thieves turned around to face the cleaner.

“Wha— you again?!” Joker exclaimed, incredulous. “Dude, what’d we do this time?”

“Well, nothing really. It’s just that ya beat the crap outta my men, and I can’t let that pass. I’m gonna have to avenge them.”

Joker narrowed his eyes suspiciously. The cleaner didn’t seem very vengeful.

“But you attacked us first!” Panther pointed out. “Come on, just let us go already!”

“Well… I guess I could let you off the hook… But you’re gonna have to beat these guys first!” Several Shadows appeared, and the cleaner walked away nonchalantly.

_ “NOT THIS AGAIN, DAMMIT!” _ Skull yelled furiously, as he tore off his mask.  **_“PERSONA!!!”_ **

The Phantom Thieves made short work of the mooks and all panted tiredly.

“What the hell?!” Skull yelled, “why’s that guy so obsessed with us?”

“He’s probably just got nothing better to do,” Joker supposed.

“Really?” Mona wondered curiously.

“Well, it doesn’t matter much,” Queen said tiredly, “it doesn’t seem he’s having much if any impact on our actions. Let’s proceed onwards, shall we?”

“Whew, that took a while,” Skull noted, after the team had backtracked for intel on the IT president.

“Yes,” Queen said. “By the way, I wonder… where’s Akechi? We haven’t run into him for a little bit.”

“Perhaps he has given up,” Fox suggested.

“I highly doubt that,” Joker said, with a cautious edge to his voice. “Akechi’s one persistent bastard. He won’t just up and disappear, especially not after we tricked him three times.”

“Kinda like how it went when Noir and I tricked you guys way back when,” Mona said, smiling proudly at the memory.

“N-No!” Noir said indignantly. “It wasn’t like that at all, Mona-chan!”

“I suppose it doesn’t matter,” Ace reasoned, “as long as he’s not in the way. Let’s go to this IT president’s room and get his letter.”

* * *

**12/22/2016 ☀ THuRSDAY Daytime**  
**Days Until Change of Heart: 3**  
**Kill Shido's Shadow**  
**『Find the letters』**  
**『Defeat Joker』**

He chuckled, pleased with his success thus far…

“Hey! You, Akechi! Still making a mess?”

Akechi spun around, surprised by the sudden appearance of the cleaner. “You! What business have you with me now, cleaner?!”

“Did you kill the TV prez?” the cleaner inquired, as cooly as usual.

“No?” Akechi stared at the yakuza man with an air of apprehensive confusion. “What makes you think that?”

“I heard reports that someone with your face shot ‘im dead!”

“Really? Strange,” Akechi mused. “Well, it wasn’t me.”

“Yeah, whatever, I thought not.” The cleaner began to walk away.

“Oh, but since you are here,” Akechi recalled, “I require something of you.”

The cleaner turned around sharply, facing Akechi once again. “Ya want my letter, is that right?”

“If you please.”

“Kudos for sayin’ please, kid. I like a man with manners. But I’m afraid it ain’t gonna be so easy.” The cleaner snapped his fingers, and many Shadows appeared out of thin air. “If you can beat these dudes, I’ll consider it!”

The Shadows began to gang up on Akechi, whose face warped into that of furious impatience.  _ “I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS CRAP!!!” _ he yelled, summoning Loki and decimating the enemies almost instantly.

Once they had disappeared, the cleaner was gone. Akechi took a moment to take a breath behind some cover, and recover his temper.

_ It doesn’t matter, _ he thought, smiling to himself.  _ I already had one victory today… and there’s still time to seize another! _

* * *

**12/22/2016 ☀ THuRSDAY Daytime**  
**Days Until Mental Shutdown: 3**  
**Steal Shido's Heart**  
**「Get the fourth letter」**  
**「Outwit Akechi」**

Joker and the other thieves stood by the window, listening to Oracle's interaction with the IT company president transpire. It had seemed to be going fairly well, until...

“You see,” the IT president declared confidently, “you gotta abuse a tool like the internet. Well, not exactly— the word abuse doesn’t really even begin to describe it! The real charm is using the internet in innovative ways that circumvent legal restrictions!”

Oracle scowled. “You  _ little…” _

“It’s exactly like how I took down that nonsensical  _ ‘Phan-site!’” _ the man laughed. “We still don’t know the identity of the child who created it, but he will be unearthed soon enough! And then the mysterious individual who was rallying public support for the Phantom Thieves all this time will be prosecuted and ruined!”

“What a…”

“I’m sure you understand—”

“…third-rate…”

“You’re Medjed, after all!”

“…fool.”

“Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we—” the IT president suddenly caught her words. “Huh?”

“Not only are your skills third-rate,” Oracle informed him, “but you stink worse than a third-rate person. Picking on the weak, oppressing the innocent, and calling that innovative?! Don’t treat me like an equal to the likes of  _ you… _ I’m gonna reform society!”

“What a stupid idea,” the man replied, sneering at Oracle derisively. “Don’t tell me you destroyed my website for this so-called ‘societal reform?!’”

“You bet I did! Because I’m a member of the Phantom Thieves! Now, you’re gonna give me that letter of introduction!”

“And why would I do that?” the IT president wondered, leering over Oracle menacingly.

Oracle suddenly shrank away nervously. “H-How about a—”

**_BANG!_ **

Oracle stopped talking, and the IT president looked about nervously for the source of the noise, before noticing a bullet hole on the wall, having missed him by inches.

“What? Who’s shooting?!”

“Don’t you harm that child!” Ace yelled at the IT president, glaring at him furiously. “I’m warning you— My shots don’t miss very often!”

The rest of the Phantom Thieves rushed into the room, followed and covered by Ace, who held her sniper rifle over her shoulder, pointed straight at the IT president.

“So this is still what happens in the end,” Noir sighed, disappointed.

“Well, whatever!” Mona said encouragingly. “We should be able to get his letter no problem now! Let’s go!”

Joker nodded in agreement, staring the IT president straight in the face with a firm, challenging smile. “You’re not gonna get away with what you did to the Phan-site! We’re gonna hack Shido’s heart!”

Oracle looked at him dubiously in reaction to the cheesy one-liner. “Really, Joker?”

The IT president shouted monstrously, as he began to transform into his Shadow…

* * *

“Okeydokey!” Oracle said cheerily, as she reached around to pickpocket the defeated IT president for his letter, “we got a— what?!”

As her face changed to confused surprise, the IT president began to laugh. “You fools…”

“He doesn’t have one!” Oracle gasped in disbelief.

“Nope… you’ve wasted your time!” the IT president chuckled a good bit longer, extremely amused by this turn of events. “You were all but a minute too late. As you unceremoniously granted yourself entrance through the window, Akechi-kun was making his exit!”

“What?!”

“And you’ll be deleted by Shido… just like I deleted your mother’s cognitive psience research!” the IT president laughed. “Yes, I recognize you, Futaba Sakura…”

“You…!” Oracle gaped. “You were one of those men in black suits at my mother’s funeral… so you… you’re the one responsible for—”

“Oracle!” Joker yelled. “Forget about him! We need to catch up to Akechi!” He turned and ran back to the window. “Let’s get the hell out of here!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sae's flashbacks are coming slowly. This is building up and shit. Important plot shit. Thanks for reading. Thank you and good night!


	21. Sadao

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I can't think of a chapter summary, but who cares.
> 
> You might cry.

**7/24/2004 ☀ SATuRDaY Early Morning**

“Okay, Sae,” Sadao said, standing upwards and taking a forward offensive stance towards his elder daughter, “I’m going to rush at you and attack. You try to stop me and pin me down.” He turned to look at the younger Niijima girl, sitting in the grass at the edge of the creek, observing. “Makoto, watch carefully.”

Makoto nodded eagerly. “You can do it, Sis!”

Sae smiled at her father from where she sat— kneeling in the grass, hands placed together in front of her chest —and gently bowed her head. Then, she slowly stood, preparing to defend… Closed her eyes, and purged all irrelevant thoughts from her mind…

“Like breathing,” she whispered to herself. “Just feel the breeze and…”

Sadao began to rush forward, and, almost immediately, Sae opened her eyes and grabbed Sadao’s wrist. She attempted to overturn him, but Sadao’s instincts were far superior to her own. He intercepted with his other arm and pushed her away.

Sae landed in the soft grass, and Sadao began moving in on her again. She stood up, and…

Sadao once again deflected Sae’s defense, and she was almost instantly pinned down to the ground.

“Sae, you’re almost as tall as I am now,” Sadao said, seeming slightly disappointed as he got up and released her. “I know you can do it, after all the training I’ve put you through.”

Sae coughed nervously as she righted herself. “I’m not sure I can, Dad.”

“You know you can,” Sadao insisted. “I’ve seen you give some good kicks to boys twice your size! And remember when you bit your sensei?”

Sae looked embarrassed. “That was wrong…”

“It sure was.” Sadao nodded in cheerful agreement. “But you sure thought you had a good reason at the time, right? You were trying to defend yourself. Something that was very important to you.”

“Right…” Sae recalled the immense anger she had felt all those years ago, when her teacher had so demeaningly insisted she couldn’t be anything like her father. “Something important…”

_I can be like the boys. I can stand toe-to-toe with the boys. I can be like…_

“I know you want to be like me, Sae. But I want you to be yourself.” Sadao smiled at her and winked. “I want you to be my girl. Come on and make me proud.” He reassumed his offensive stance. “Are you ready to go again?”

Sae kneeled and grinned at her father, accepting his challenge. “I’m ready.” She bowed and then stood.

As she quietly contemplated her admiration, her ambition, to become like… to _surpass_ her father, he began closing in, and…

Without looking, she seized his wrist. He countered and flipped her over. But, focused and contemplative, she freed herself, tumbled forward and rolled past him, then stood up and countered as well.

Sae opened her eyes, and, in a brief, tense, moment, stared her father straight in the eyes… and then propelled him downwards and pinned his arms behind his back.

Sadao chuckled. “Good move, Sae. But I wasn’t quite moving at my normal speed. It won’t always be so easy.”

Sae let go, and turned to see Makoto’s reaction.

Makoto was smiling at her sister in admiration.

“Daddy, when are you going to teach me that too?”

“When you get a little less small,” Sadao promised, beaming at Makoto. “It’ll be a little while. One student is already a pretty big handful. But she’s come far. It might not be too long before I’m teaching you both.” He turned back to Sae, still smiling as cheerfully as ever. “Keep practicing, okay?”

Sae nodded firmly. “I will!”

* * *

**12/22/2016 ☀ THuRSDAY Daytime**  
**Days Until Akechi's Murder: 3**  
**Help the Phantom Thieves Stop Shido**  
**「Find the cleaner」**

_I will._

Ace stared forward into the deep, never-ending sea, Shido’s cognition of the drowning country beneath this wretched ship…

_Because you didn’t die for this._

Thinking this, she gently tightened her dark red elbow-length gloves…

_Father. I’ll do my best…_

“Ace!”

Snapped back to the present, she turned around to face Joker and the other thieves, who were all looking at her, curious and concerned— especially Queen.

“Sis, are you alright?” Queen gave her sister a gentle, concerned expression. “You were really out of it there.”

Ace nodded firmly with a grateful smile. “I’m sorry. I was lost in thought. What were we talking about?”

“We’re going to get to the cleaner,” Joker repeated, “as fast as we can, and get his letter before Akechi can ever get his hands anywhere near it.”

Skull grinned wildly. “Yeah! He ain’t never gonna catch it!”

“He most certainly won’t!” Noir agreed enthusiastically. “We know where the cleaner is, right?”

“Of course we do!” Panther asserted confidently. “He always shows up to sic his army on us! All we gotta do is cause some trouble, right?”

“Hello?” Fox called out, looking around the deck wildly. “Sir Cleaner? Would you please be so kind as to present yourself?”

No cleaner of any sort, yakuza or otherwise, made an appearance.

“I don’t think it’s going to be that easy,” Queen lamented.

“He’s here to get in the way, but not when we really need him…” Oracle groaned. “We need to find him fast!”

“Well, I don’t think we have to worry too much,” Joker reasoned.

Everyone looked at him curiously.

“Joker,” Mona inquired, “What do you mean by that?”

“The cleaner is a yakuza, remember?” Joker smirked confidently. “I know a man who used to be a yakuza.”

“What?!” Panther gasped, stunned. “Joker, you know a _real_ yakuza? Who is he?”

Joker grinned at Panther, then turned to Skull. “Skull, d’you remember the airsoft shop owner?”

Skull’s jaw dropped. “That guy is a yakuza?!”

 _“Ex_ -yakuza,” Joker corrected. “Yeah, I did some work for him in exchange for improvements to our weapons. Happened into a few of his former co-workers, too. Those guys have no stomach for fools and nonsense.”

Ace seemed to understand. “So, that means…”

“The cleaner’s not going to tolerate someone like Akechi,” Joker stated, sounding very sure of his reasoning. “Getting his letter won’t be easy.”

“But what if Akechi simply fights him and steals the letter as we have done?” Fox wondered. “His combat skills are certainly well rounded. Should he get into a confrontation with the cleaner, he will almost certainly hold his own.”

“Eh,” Joker appeared unconcerned. “I don’t think he’ll get a chance. If there’s anything the cleaner’s good at, it’s testing patience— and Akechi hasn’t got too much of that. But in any case…” Suddenly appearing to be intently focused, the gallant leader of the thieves looked around carefully.

Ace was amazed by his immense confidence. “Joker, do you have a way of finding where the cleaner is?”

“He’s got some special observation skills,” Mona explained. “So soon enough, he should—”

“This way!” Joker pointed in the direction of an open vent, whose cover had been broken off. “Akechi’s footprints lead there!”

“I see…” Ace didn’t fully understand it, but she smiled and nodded nonetheless. “That boy is full of surprises.”

* * *

**12/22/2016 ☀ THuRSDAY Daytime**  
**Days Until Change of Heart: 3**  
**Kill Shido's Shadow**  
**『Steal the cleaner's letter』**  
**『Defeat Joker』**

Akechi extended his head out of the vent through which he had crawled, looking into the only adequately lit and dusty engine room. There, he saw his upcoming target: The cleaner, casually smoking a cigar.

“I just need to defeat that man,” he whispered to himself. “Then Joker… and then Shido shall be mine to destroy! And after that… I will be finished forever.”

He leaped downwards onto the engine room floor, drawing his pistol and pointing it straight at Shido’s cognition of his yakuza ally.

You again?" the cleaner exclaimed, extremely annoyed by Akechi's sudden appearance. "What the hell d'you want?!"

"You," Akechi said forcefully, leveling the barrel of his pistol at the cleaner, "will give me your letter of introduction."

"I don't like your attitude," the cleaner responded bluntly. “You could do with a 'please.' Also, I don't like guns very much."

Akechi growled and lowered his firearm. He snarled, even more forcefully— "You will _please_ give me your letter of introduction."

The cleaner huffed, still annoyed by Akechi’s attitude. “I ain't givin' you shit."

"I will kill you and rob it from your corpse."

"Good luck with that," the cleaner responded derisively. “I wouldn’t be so easily killed. Dozens of men stronger than you have tried. Now, I'll give you one last chance to be polite, if you really want that letter. You wanna talk this out like gentlemen or not?"

Akechi gritted his teeth in fury, and— his patience almost completely gone —shouted at the top of his lungs…

**_"... GIVE ME THAT LETTER!"_ **

“Hmm… Nah, I don’t feel like it.”

A crowd of Shadows appeared to surround Akechi.

"I don't got time to waste on you right now, kid. Come back when you've polished your manners. In the meantime, you're gonna have to fight these dudes." The cleaner flicked his cigar behind him and waltzed away, appearing rather bored with the entire affair. "Adios, Akechi!"

Thoroughly angered, Akechi summoned Loki and defeated the guards in an instant, leaving behind no trace of a struggle. After doing so, he considered his options. The cleaner was a simple man, but not a simple target.

_Perhaps it would be better not to target the cleaner at all…_

He looked up into the rafters of the engine room.

* * *

**10/20/2009 ☁ TuESDAY Evening**

“Dad?”

Sadao turned back to look at Sae as he put on his detective badge.

“Hey, sweetheart.”

“Are you going to work?”

“Yeah.” Sadao smiled gently at his daughter. “You know how it is, Sae. I need to take care of some bad guys. And there’s only one place to go to for answers.”

Sae swallowed nervously.

She knew full well what Sadao was referring to. And she was now very worried.

“But didn’t the police chief tell you not to—”

“Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, Sae. If I don’t do something about this, no one will.”

“No!” Sae cried, rushing forward and grabbing her father by the waist. “It’s dangerous! Those people are dangerous! Please, don’t go, _please!”_ She looked up into his eyes desperately. “I don’t want you to disappear like Mom did…”

Sadao looked a little sad at the reminder of Yuriko’s absence.

“Can you let go of me for a second, sweetheart?”

Still distraught, Sae reluctantly obliged her father.

Sadao looked downwards at Sae and gave her a serious, firm look, taking her hand. “You remember what I told you when you were little? About how sometimes I have to put my job ahead of my justice?”

It wasn’t a talk Sae could so easily forget.

“Yes. I remember.”

“The law’s not perfect. Sometimes, you have to put your justice ahead of your job. Do the wrong thing for the sake of the right cause.”

Sae stood there, still holding her father’s hand, reluctant to let go.

“Don’t you ever forget that, Sae,” Sadao insisted. “Sometimes, you’ll have to make sacrifices.”

A tear rolled from her eye.

Sadao laughed a little. “Come now, don’t cry. It’ll be alright. I’ll come back. And besides, you've grown so much— you're almost nineteen now, aren't you? You can hold your own without your dad's help.”

"Yeah... I guess so..." Sae looked away, embarrassed, and wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

After a moment, she turned back to her father. “When are you coming back?”

“Probably not until morning.” Sadao stood up, grabbed his jacket, and put it on. “Don’t worry, Sae. I’ll be okay. Promise.”

“You promise?”

Sadao smiled with confidence. “Yeah. I promise, Sae. But I want you to promise me something too.”

Sae looked at Sadao curiously. “What do you want me to promise?”

“Take care of your sister while I’m gone.”

Sae bowed her head without hesitation.

“I promise. Makoto will be safe.”

Sadao grinned at his daughter proudly, pleased that she was so eager to rise to the challenge.

“That’s my girl.”

* * *

**12/22/2016 ☀ THuRSDAY Daytime**  
**Days Until Mental Shutdown: 3**  
**Steal Shido's Heart**  
**「Get the cleaner's letter」**  
**「Outwit Akechi」**

Joker finally found his way out of the vent.

“Huh. Akechi’s footsteps stop here.”

He was followed almost immediately by the eight other thieves.

“Strange,” Queen wondered, looking about the engine room. “There’s no one here.”

“Perhaps Akechi has defeated the cleaner after all,” Noir suggested cautiously, as she adjusted her hat.

“Nah, I don’t think so,” Oracle reasoned. “There’s no sign of any fight here.”

“Could it be that they negotiated in the end?” Fox wondered.

“That would suck,” Mona remarked.

“No.” Joker seemed very certain that he was correct. “Akechi’s not one for negotiation. There’s something else leading…” Joker focused for a second, before pointing into the depths of the engine room. “I can feel it! The cleaner’s that way!”

“Man, I can’t wait to finally kick that guy’s ass!” Skull whooped, pumping his fist in the air.

Ace smiled, pleased by everyone’s enthusiasm. “Let’s get on with it then, shall we?”

* * *

The cleaner was relaxing in the control room with the rest of his fellow yakuza. He’d had quite enough of all the nonsense that had going on lately, with the Akechi kid and those Phantom Thieves, and was pleased to have caught a break. He quietly lit a cigar and began smoking it as he read the paper.

It was kinda stupid of him to think it’d be that easy. He should have known perfectly well that it was not to last.

Those seven punks and their tall, very familiar-looking, silver-haired guardian leaped out of a vent from above, landing in front of him. The black-haired guy with the white mask and red gloves smiled and waved. “What’s up?”

“You punks again?!” The cleaner put down his paper, and turned to the thieves, taking the cigar out of his mouth to talk. “Are you looking for trouble like that Akechi kid? Listen, I don’t got time for your crap, okay?”

The black-haired kid— their leader —gave the cleaner a lionhearted grin. “Crap? Come on, I wouldn’t waste your time with nonsense. We’re here to talk some business.”

The other yakuza men stood up to approach the group, weapons drawn— but the cleaner signaled them to not attack. They reluctantly obliged and sat back down to observe the conversation.

“Business?” The cleaner now wore an intrigued face. “I gotta say, kid, you’re a well-mannered fella. Sure, I can talk some business. What’s in it for me?”

* * *

“Hmm…” After thinking a moment, Joker dug around in his pockets and pulled out some small pieces of gold and silver that he’d stolen from hidden Treasure stashes all around the halls of Shido’s ship. “How about I hand over this stuff in exchange for your letter of introduction?”

The cleaner looked at the gold in Joker’s hands, and after a moment, laughed uproariously.

“Hahaha! You seriously think I got use for cheap little knick knacks like _those?”_

The other thieves sighed in disappointment.

“They’re worth a lot of money,” Joker pointed out, trying his best to maintain confidence. He was quite surprised by this— selling these kinds of things to Iwai had worked out well, countless times. But then again, Iwai was of course only a former yakuza…

“I don’t need money, kid!” The cleaner scoffed, still apparently finding this idea to be the funniest thing he’d ever seen. “Our clan’s got loads of stashes of cash from cleaning up after Shido. You’re gonna have to offer me a lot more than that for my letter.”

Joker shrugged, now totally out of ideas. “Lemme talk this over with my partners.” He turned back to the team.

“Well, what are we supposed to do now?!” Panther hissed. “Should we fight him for the letter?”

“No, I think Joker’s negotiation strategy was pretty solid,” Mona whispered back. “He seemed interested. We should try offering something different. Perhaps… We could ask to do some work for him?”

“No way!” Skull protested. “I don’t wanna do work for a yakuza! That’s shady as hell!”

“We wouldn’t actually have to complete the work,” Queen reasoned. “If we can convince him to hand over the letter first, with the promise of us doing the work—”

“I think we should fight!” Noir eagerly swung her axe to and fro. Everyone else nervously gave her some space, trying to avoid the sharp edges.

“There’s… not a need for that,” Fox replied nervously as he avoided Noir’s axe. “Perhaps I could help somehow?”

“Oh! That’s right!” Panther realized. “Fox, you know he has a lot of tattoos, right? Maybe you could draw one for him!”

“What?! No, that is not what I was suggesting!” Fox was incredulous. “I wouldn’t allow my art to be—”

“Let me talk to him,” Ace interjected, stepping forward.

“Wait— what?” Joker was quite stunned. “Ace, no! You don’t—”

“I’m the adult here, Joker.”

“Sis, what are you thinking?!” Queen appeared to not have expected her sister to be so willing to speak to a yakuza. “He could have—”

“I know. I know he could have,” Ace confirmed, nodding calmly. “Just let me do this.”

* * *

**12/22/2016 ☀ THuRSDAY Daytime**  
**Days Until Akechi's Murder: 3**  
**Help the Phantom Thieves Stop Shido**  
**「Talk to the cleaner」**

The other Phantom Thieves all backed up as Ace stepped forward towards the cleaner. She took a deep breath. _Just be like Father would be in this situation. Calm, collected, smooth._

“Excuse me, again,” Ace said calmly.

The cleaner turned around. “Oh, it’s you. Those kids’ guardian, if I remember right?”

“Yes,” Ace nodded. She was actually quite pleased that he remembered her. “We haven’t met before, have we?”

“I don’t believe so,” the cleaner reasoned, “but you do look pretty dang familiar. Said it before. You still remind me of that guy.”

“Is that right?” Ace inquired nonchalantly, taking a deep breath as she did the best she could to contain her emotions.

“Yeah, he had reddish-brown eyes, I think? Some neat slick-backed hair. Not sure if it was brown or black. Been a long while since I seen him.”

“And he was with the police.”

The cleaner looked at Ace suspiciously. “Seems you know a lot. I mean, he wasn’t with the police, but he was sure as hell one of ‘em.”

“Seven years ago. October of 2009?”

He looked extremely intrigued. “So you knew this guy? I forgot his name.”

Ace nodded to herself. Her suspicions had all but been confirmed.

“So _you_ were the one my father was going after.”

There was a beat of silence.

Then, the cleaner laughed, highly amused by this curious turn of events.

“Your father, huh?” The cleaner chuckled a bit more. “No wonder you wanted to know what the hell happened to him.”

Ace nodded, taking off her mask and extending her hand. “Sae Niijima. It’s a pleasure to meet you…”

“Nah.” The cleaner shook his head. “Getting my real name ain’t gonna be so easy. But I’ll tell you what. You’re a fine young lady, and I ain’t nothing if not honest. I’ll tell you what happened to him.”

As Ace’s conversation with the cleaner transpired, Queen’s face slowly morphed into shock. Not quite believing it, she stared in disbelief at the man who had…

“So does that mean, like…” Skull gulped. “That guy _killed_ your dad?”

There were no words. The Phantom Thieves all stood quietly, listening to the cleaner as he began his story—

“I wasn’t the boss back then, just a lieutenant. Your dad showed up late one night, while we were just mindin’ our business, playing a game…”

* * *

“Your move.”

The lieutenant’s opponent moved his black checker king.

“Interesting…”

The spectators, all relaxing on the comfortable couches surrounding the table, watched with great curiosity as the cleaner made his own move. This table sat in the center of an immaculate, well-furnished room full of rather extravagant-looking antique items.

After the game had continued for a brief few moments longer, the lieutenant’s opponent captured his final piece. “Too easy.”

The lieutenant scoffed. “American games like this make everything too easy.”

“It’s not really American.”

The door suddenly creaked open, and the yakuza all turned their heads. To their surprise, a rather well-dressed man entered the room.

“Checkers actually originated way back in Ancient Greece. At least, as far as historians know— could’ve been even further.”

“Well, ain’t you a smartass.” The young yakuza lieutenant stood and turned to the man who had just entered— a tall fellow of average build, with neat brown hair and crimson eyes. He wore a handsome suit, and in his hands, held what appeared to be a police badge. “What business do you got here?”

His opponent, another yakuza underling much like himself, abandoned the game of checkers that they had been playing. The spectators of the game, too, focused their attention away from the board and looked at the intruding cop.

“I’m here to ask a few questions,” the officer said in a calm, easy tone, extending his arm to show his badge, which read _Detective Sadao Niijima._

The spectators all laughed.

The lieutenant chuckled. “So you’re poking your nose where ya don’t belong, eh?”

“Yeah, I guess I am,” Sadao Niijima supposed, laughing a little at that. “Although I’d wonder what’s so secret about a simple game like this.”

The lieutenant laughed a little more. “You’re a pretty smooth talker, for a cop. I’ll give you that. How about we sit down for a game, and I’ll tell ya?”

Sadao looked intrigued. After a beat, he smiled and nodded. “I’d like that.”

* * *

“Check. I win.” The lieutenant hopped over Sadao’s last piece, capturing it and winning the game. The latter narrowed his eyes.

The room was now empty, save for those two. The other yakuza spectators had since lost interest in the game, and gone elsewhere to attend to other matters.

“Huh. I used to be really good at checkers.” Sadao chuckled, amused by his loss. “Guess I’m a little rusty. Must’ve been made soft playing with my daughters.”

The lieutenant seemed to find this very funny. “Well, your daughters must be pretty good. You put up a nice fight.” He shrugged dismissively, and put away the checkerboard. “Heh, well, it doesn’t matter. Good game, Detective.”

Sadao nodded and offered a hand to his opponent. “Likewise. Now, onto the matter at hand?”

The lieutenant politely accepted the handshake, firmly gripping Sadao’s hand within his own thick and tough knuckles. “Sure thing. I can’t tell ya everything, but I can listen.”

Sadao leaned back into his chair casually, reached into his suit, and pulled out a photo of another rather well-dressed man. “This guy look familiar to you?”

The lieutenant looked at the photo with a bemused smile. “I mighta seen him somewhere, yeah. What’s it to you?”

“His name’s Choei Maeda. Pretty commonly known fellow. Ministry of Special Admissions. Died a few weeks ago while addressing the police force about safety— nasty shot to the face.” Sadao pocketed the photograph, and his face formed a serious expression. “I was there when it happened. Sniper was never identified, but I saw a man with tattoos leaving the scene. Carried a huge black case, looked like he was in a hurry.”

The lieutenant scoffed derisively. “So you saw some bigass guy with a box. Big deal.”

“Not just that.” Sadao took out another photograph, a grainy shot of several men unloading money from a truck. And another, of an unfortunate man being beaten up in an alleyway. And yet a third, of a man carrying a small briefcase.

The lieutenant looked at the photos, feigning confusion. “I ain’t never seen these guys before, Detective.”

Sadao looked unfazed. “You guys usually stay out of the way. But all this— this is just too strange. Doing weird stuff out in the open like this just isn’t like you guys.”

A few short moments passed as the lieutenant looked at the photos, his smile growing more and more amused. “And so what? What d’you think we’re doing?”

“I think someone is paying you for your services, lieutenant. Someone who’d rather not be known.” Sadao leaned back casually, and pulled out a small paper. “This is a report of your organization’s stock prices. There’s a suspicious rise in how much money you’ve made.” He pointed to the item on the list that gave an enormous number of yen from _Saito Corp._ “I don’t think that company exists.”

The lieutenant took the paper and examined it carefully. His look of curious amusement became ever the more evident as he did so. “Huh. You’ve certainly done your homework.”

Sadao knew he’d hit the jackpot. He leaned forward over the table, crossing his fingers beneath his chin and smiling amiably at the yakuza lieutenant. “So your clan is working for someone, is that right?”

The lieutenant handed the paper back to Sadao. “It’s just a business deal. Nothing more, nothing less. And I guarantee you, that Ministry guy was not supposed to go out like he did. That was some dumbass mistake.”

“So you don’t deny that you were responsible for that hit.”

“I ain’t nothing if not honest, Detective.”

“You just said you’d never seen those men in the photos before.”

“I haven’t.” The lieutenant smiled at Sadao cheekily, and picked up one of the latter three photos. “These fellas have different tattoos, see? They ain’t with us. They were just helpin’ us out with the job.”

“Uh-huh.” Sadao didn’t seem to fully buy it, but he didn’t press the issue. “So who is this Saito guy, anyway?”

“First of all, his name ain’t Saito. Second of all, it ain’t none of your damn business.”

Sadao didn’t give up. “Well, how about we make a deal?”

The lieutenant opened his mouth to say something, but another, larger man entered before the conversation could continue.

“You got balls, officer. I respect that. Unfortunately, I’m afraid I must show you the door— _permanently.”_

Sadao stood and turned to take a good look at the taller man. He had a bulky figure, a neat-looking suit complemented by a modestly colored tie, and smoked a thick cigar that emitted a distinct, pungent odor. On his belt, there was a small holster, holding a long bladed weapon.

“So I take it you’re the boss?”

“Correct.” The boss straightened his tie and turned to the lieutenant. “Hiroki, please do the honors of showing our guest the way out.”

The lieutenant— Hiroki, looked quite surprised. “You serious?”

The boss nodded simply.

“But he’s a cop, ain’t he? If we get rid of him—”

“I’m afraid it cannot be helped. Shido called.”

Hiroki’s face sank into a clear picture of annoyed disappointment. “Damn it… we were getting along so well, too.”

“Wait, wait, hold it.” Sadao’s face was incredulous as it dawned on him what was happening. “Who’s this Shido guy? Why’s he ordering me killed?!”

The boss looked at Sadao with cold regret in his eyes. “Shido is a client of ours who prefers that his business be… confidential. Unfortunately, your curiosity has overstepped its boundaries. That’s a bit of an inconvenience for our client, so we’re going to have to make sure what you’ve learned never comes back to bite him.”

Sadao scowled indignantly. “You can’t do that. Any of you try to make a move on me, and I’ll call in everyone outside—”

“You came alone. No surprise, of course. I’d imagine your colleagues wouldn’t go anywhere near this case, is that right?”

Sadao only grimaced further.

“You can try to call them, but they wouldn’t get here in time to save you. Your death will be written off as a simple accident. Stray gunfire or some such. Is that, too, right?”

No words were spoken by either Sadao or Hiroki.

The boss nodded nonchalantly. “Hiroki. Go on.”

Hiroki took off his shirt, exposing his incredibly impressive, well-rounded, lavishly tattooed muscles. “Sorry about this, Detective.”

Sadao nodded with a bitter grin on his face. “Likewise. It was an honor. But I’m afraid I’m not going out without a fight.” He took off the jacket of his suit, leaving only his suspenders and the plain white shirt underneath.

Hiroki smiled calmly at Sadao. “Come on, then. Or has playing with your daughters made you soft?”

The boss took a seat upon the couch, and observed, with a cold, indifferent expression.

* * *

“No…” Ace’s face was stricken with horror. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “He… You… and you killed him?”

“No, not exactly.”

The Phantom Thieves stood by, clearly shocked as they all listened to the cleaner’s recollection of the events. Queen, in particular, had horror laced through her eyes as her father’s last moments were described. Joker gritted his teeth and gave her a comforting squeeze of the shoulder.

“No,” the cleaner explained, his face still calm and surprisingly neutral, “your dad actually beat me silly. He was a pretty damn good fighter for his size— although, I wasn’t quite as good then as I am now. He knocked me to the ground and was about to leave, when…”

* * *

Hiroki, bruised but hardly bloody, fell to the floor with a small _thunk._

“Good game, lieutenant,” Sadao said politely as he replaced his suit on his back. Assuming victory, he turned away and casually strolled to the door. “You put up a nice fight.”

But as he did so, there was a small, yet clearly audible and very ominous, sound behind him, of metal sliding out from between metal. Sadao stopped and turned his head slightly.

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

The boss stood up and, the sliding sound becoming scratching, he pulled out the metal object from his belt fully and thrust it forward.

Sadao gasped, coughing blood from his mouth, and looked down in surprise at the formerly stainless blade emerging from his chest, passing straight through the center of his ribcage.

“What… oh… _damn it!”_ Trying to maintain his balance, Sadao grabbed the edges of the blade and pushed it backwards out of his flesh, before collapsing. He then attempted to stand up, despite his serious wound, and make it to the door.

“No…” he gasped, frustration and disbelief laced across his face. “No! Sae… Makoto… I can’t… die… can’t leave them!”

Hiroki got up and looked down at the bleeding, coughing detective.

“Your daughters? Sae and Makoto?”

Sadao nodded weakly. “I… they… they can’t…”

Hiroki frowned. “Sorry to hear that.”

Sadao Niijima coughed once again. After a moment, the blood pool across the carpet grew to span nearly the entire carpet, and his body became lifeless.

The boss sighed, clearly tired of all the great trouble he had just gone to. “Hiroki. Clean that mess the hell up. I’ll make the arrangements so this all never gets out like it happened.”

Hiroki nodded obediently, although with clear reluctance. “Ya got it, boss.”

* * *

_Father… you… you fought this man… and won?! You weren’t kidding during our training…_

Ace gritted her teeth furiously, seething with anger. “So… where’s the boss?”

“Well you see, I’m the boss now,” answered the cleaner— Hiroki, he’d said his name was. “The old boss got real old.”

Queen took a deep, horrified breath, stepping forward towards her sister. “He… Dad, I… just can’t believe this…”

“So you two are Niijima’s kids,” Hiroki inferred, finding this rather a rather curious turn of events. “Sae and Makoto, is that right? And you two became Phantom Thieves? Huh. Must be fate or something, I guess.”

“So Shido was using the cognitive world _that_ far back?” Joker wondered, joining the conversation as well, emoting a deep, steely expression. _“Seven years?_ He’s been around that long?”

“Well, no, he didn’t know nothin’ about this Palace shit back then,” Hiroki clarified. “He was just clearing the way using normal stuff. It wasn’t until he found out about all that ‘cognitive psience’ stuff, and was approached by some weird government guy and that Akechi punk about a couple years ago, that things really started to take off.”

“Government guy…?” Fox questioned, looking rather curious. “So Shido has the help of some outside forces?”

“I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout that,” the cleaner told Fox. “I ain’t no smarty-pants when it comes to all this hocus-pocus crap. But I do know that you and I seem to got a little bit of unfinished business, Sae Niijima.”

Ace stared Hiroki straight in the eye, as she drew her sniper rifle. “Shall we fight, as you did my father?”

“Yeah, why the hell not,” Hiroki decided, casually discarding his shirt as black smoke began to erupt from his feet. “If you and your kids are as tough as your dad was, I’ll consider giving you my letter.”

Ace smiled slightly. “Very well. I shall put up my best fight against you in his honor.”

“Suits me fine.” The cleaner began to transform…

“Get ready!” Mona shouted. “This’ll be one tough battle!”

Joker nodded, grimacing at the towering Shadow form, as he tightened his gloves.

* * *

**12/22/2016 ☀ THuRSDAY Daytime**  
**Days Until Mental Shutdown: 3**  
**Steal Shido's Heart**  
**「Defeat the cleaner」**

“Look out!” Oracle shouted, as Shadow Hiroki cast a debuff spell on the party, negating Queen’s boosts.

Joker righted himself and pulled off his mask, scowling with determination. “King Frost— _MEGATON RAID!”_

The physical attack damaged the Shadow a fair bit, weakening him, and Noir rushed in to swing her axe. _“BREAKDOWN!!!”_

“Hang on… where’s Ace?” Mona yelled.

Joker looked around frantically. He hadn’t sent Ace away, or swapped her out with anyone—

**_BANG_**

“I… won’t… I don’t… _MISS!”_ Ace shouted from up high in the rafters above the fight, brandishing her sniper rifle, as she reloaded it speedily, her silver hair flowing all around her. She made a strong, resolute expression, looking down at the cleaner’s Shadow triumphantly. “This is for my father!”

Hiroki’s Shadow seemed notably further weakened, but overall unfazed. He started to stand up, but Ace raised the rifle’s scope to her eye once again and took another shot, and another, and…

**_CRITICAL_**

Black smoke fell around the Shadow as it transformed back to its previous form…

Hiroki was still standing when it fell, looking almost delighted. Laughing, even.

 _“Hahaha!_ So, you punks’re tough! I like that!” He grinned at them all, and then turned to look up at Ace. “You’re a good shot, Niijima. I think your dad would be proud.”

Ace gracefully leapt down from the rafters, and looked at the cleaner with begrudging respect. “So you’ll give us your letter?”

“Yeah yeah, sure, whatever.” Hiroki fished it out of his pocket and handed it over. “I won’t be needing it no more anyway. Time for me to jet.”

“You’re just leaving?!” marveled Joker. “But what about Shido?”

“Like I said, he got us a lot of cash,” Hiroki repeated, as he packed away his belongings into a medium-sized briefcase. “And besides, Captain Shido don’t matter much anyway. He was great and all, but if there are tough soldiers like you on this ship, this place ain’t gonna last much longer.”

“What a surprise,” Fox mused. “This is a rather unexpected response for a cognitive being.”

“Politicians never get too close to their shadier connections,” Noir pointed out. “They must have only been linked monetarily.”

“Yeah, that’s about right,” Hiroki confirmed. “I hardly ever seen the man’s face. I don’t really give a crap what happens to him.” He turned back to Ace, still pleased after the fight she had put up. “I ain’t got much to do with your dad. Your fight’s with Shido. Good luck with it, Niijima. You too, Ojou-chan.”

“Oh, uh…” Queen seemed surprised to be addressed in such a way by such a large and intimidating man. After a moment, she bowed at Hiroki gently. “Thank you.”

Ace nodded firmly and respectfully. “Thank you, Hiroki-san.”

“Oh, don’t thank me. I didn’t do much.”

And so Hiroki opened the door to the control room, and departed, never to be seen again.

There was a moment of silence, as everyone let the revelations sink in.

“Are you both alright?” Joker asked Ace and Queen.

Ace nodded in confirmation. “It’s just…”

“That brings back a lot of memories,” Queen finished, exchanging a look with her sister.

“Yes.” Ace’s eyes had a melancholy sorrow in them. “We should go.”

Panther gave the two of them a sensible, compassionate look. “Yeah, come on. Let’s go stop Shido.”

“We’re gonna get our revenge,” Skull swore, his fist clenched with determination. “He ain’t gonna get away with killin’ us!”

“Indeed we shall,” Fox agreed gracefully. “But first, we must confront Akechi, and collect the letter he obtained.”

“Yeah!” Noir assented, cheerfully. “Come now, everyone! We’re almost there!”

“Sounds good to me,” Mona agreed. “Let’s go!”

Their spirits lifted, the team all exited the engine control room and rushed forth to face the next challenge awaiting them.

* * *

“So we meet again, _JOKER!”_ Akechi shouted, making a malevolent smile, as he leaped down from above to meet his adversary eye-to-eye. “I take it you plan to go somewhere?”

“Actually, I was looking for you,” Joker replied casually, as though he had just happened upon an old friend in the street. “Have you been enjoying yourself?”

Akechi chuckled, pleasantly, yet still holding an air of ill intent in his voice. “Ah, Akira, you amaze me with your bold conduct and clever trickery. You have entrapped and outwitted me, not one, but three times in the course of this race. It’s not unlike how I might have thought to do, were I in your shoes. I do feel that we could have been great rivals… perhaps even friends… had we met but a few years earlier.”

Joker found this very amusing, and snickered slyly. “Oh, don’t be silly, Akechi— we’re already rivals.”

“Ahahaha!” Akechi laughed delightfully. “How wonderful of you to think such! I murdered you, yet you seem to not hold a grudge! To be honest, I am quite envious. You have a good and free heart…” His tone grew angrier as he spoke. “But I am simply a useless, unwanted, terrible child."

"Your mother," Queen recalled. "Akechi, was that the truth?"

"It was almost. She was not killed by my father… though she may as well have been. No, the full truth is much worse… but that matters not. All that matters now… all that I care about… is _killing all of you!”_ Akechi took on a battle stance, and tore off his mask as he yelled at the top of his lungs, **_“PERRRRSSSSSSOOOONA!!!”_ **

Joker tightened his gloves, and formed fists. “He’s coming! Everyone get ready!”

The team all entered formation and readied themselves to battle Akechi, as Robin Hood charged forth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time on Coffee and Dreams: Akechi finally learns some shit.
> 
> There will likely end up being at least one or two more than twenty-four chapters, because of story expansion. The cleaner boss fight did not used to encompass its own entire chapter.
> 
> I'm also going to Tokyo in December.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	22. Fumiko

Fumiko Akechi rarely showed her true self.

She was broken, empty, dissatisfied, and, to cap it all off, absurdly rich.

The Akechi Corporation had proved a highly profitable business, raking in billions and billions of yen from the sales of all the products produced by all the companies under its command. The Akechi brand name was one which rivaled that of Kirijo or Nanjo, and had even come to acquire some of Kirijo’s assets— including some of their research teams.

Fumiko did not care for the great scale of her family’s business, but she could not walk away from it. So she found herself drinking away many hours of her evenings at a small, densely populated bar, trying to wear a pretty face for the sake of the Akechi Family’s reputation.

It was now, as she indulged herself in alcohol, that a distinguished young man sat next to her.

“Hello there,” the man said pleasantly. He had an oddly handsome mullet, and wore a pair of glasses with rather thin frames and orange colored lenses.

“Yes, hello.” Fumiko downed another shot of whiskey, barely looking at this stranger. “May I help you?”

“I was thinking perhaps I might help you.”

She turned her head curiously. “Who are you?”

“Who I am isn’t important. But if you must have a name, you may call me Saito.”

“That’s not your real name, is it?”

“By no means.” The man who called himself Saito grinned with a tangible air of cunning, and removed his glasses. “Nor are these my real spectacles.”

“So you’re a fake man,” Fumiko summarized, amused, “with a fake name and fake glasses.”

“Precisely,” Saito answered simply, smiling with fake charm. “But I can tell that you’re most certainly a real woman.”

Fumiko laughed. “Shall I buy you a drink?”

Saito nodded eagerly. “It would be my pleasure.”

* * *

**12/22/2016 ☀ THuRSDAY Daytime**  
**Days Until Mental Shutdown: 3**  
**Steal Shido's Heart**  
**「Defeat Akechi」**

“KILL THEM!” Akechi shouted, summoning a pair of Shadows and then turning them psychotic with Loki.

“What the hell?!” Skull complained, tearing off his mask and summoning Seiten Taisei. “Fight us yourself, coward!” He attempted to attack Akechi, but he leaped out of the team’s reach.

“How insulting,” Ace spat, disgusted. “This is no challenge whatsoever.” She called out for Irene, and the Shadows were swiftly defeated.

“I see…” Akechi laughed, as he glared at Joker. “Well, of course not! I didn’t seriously expect you to be defeated by them. After all, you all were able to cheat death, thanks to the aid of the Velvet Room. Though, considering the situation… I do wonder how you were able to acquire that aid.”

“Uh…” Panther looked puzzled. “What’s he talking about?”

“Hard to explain.” Joker wouldn’t be sure of the words to describe the Velvet Room, and Igor, and the curious appearance of that child— Lavenza. And why she had called Igor a “scoundrel” was another mystery entirely. Hopefully, he would be able to come clean with the team in time. “Let’s focus on defeating Akechi for now.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter!” Akechi shouted fiercely, as he unleashed his power. “Robin Hood—  _ KOUGAON!” _

Within a few short minutes, the thieves knocked down Akechi, and he groaned…

“How…” he gasped. “How did I… How did you…” He coughed weakly. “So, neither of us had shown our true strengths, huh?”

“Akechi!” Queen shouted, as Akechi struggled to to get up. “Why are you cooperating with someone like Shido?”

“Cooperating?” Akechi laughed derisively. “What are you talking about?! I was never cooperating… All of this was to make Masayoshi Shido… my father… finally acknowledge me as his son. And then exact revenge upon him!”

“Shido is your father?!” Fox marveled in surprise.

“Yes… you all remember my story? Shido was not the one who killed my mother.” Akechi stood up, scowling.  _ “I was. _ I was Shido’s curse…”

* * *

**6/2/2005 ☀ THuRSDAY Evening**

_ “PLEASURE, MY ASS!” _ Fumiko shrieked, raving as she smashed a flower vase. “I should never have… I shouldn’t have trusted him!  _ I’M A GODDAMN WHORE!” _

“Mother…!” Goro shrank away in fear. “What are you talking about?”

“You’re a curse upon my life!” Fumiko threw a wine bottle at her son, who, avoiding it, continued to shrink away.  _ “YOU AND SHIDO! _ That no-good asshole left me with a little no-good brat! I should have known… of course he was a fake. Of course… Of course I…” She slowed her movements and breathed heavily, realizing the full weight of her words.

“Mother… I didn’t mean to… I’m sorry.” The young Goro looked down, beginning to cry. “I didn’t want to curse you.”

Fumiko’s face became softer and colder.

“Of course… of course you didn’t.” She swallowed, and slowly, gently, reached out to Goro’s side. “I’m… I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have…”

Goro, with a hopeful sorrow in his eyes, looked upwards and reached out to touch his mother’s face.

But to his great surprise, she did not return the gesture. Instead, she retrieved the greater portion of the shattered wine bottle which she had moments ago hurled in his direction.

“Mother?”

“I shouldn’t…” Fumiko lifted the broken bottle towards her neck, and slipped off her shoes. “Have… had you. With Shido. All… Shido’s fault. Not you. I’m sorry. Please… don’t be like… me…”

“Mother!”

There was a sickening sound as Fumiko pierced her own flesh, spurting blood all about the room. It was almost like the sound of a lemon being juiced. Within moments, the expensive carpet was stained with a river of blood.

_ “MOTHER!” _

* * *

“Your mother… was…” Ace gasped as she realized. “She was Fumiko Akechi?! The woman who inherited that conglomerate, Akechi Corporation… of course! How did I not see the connection?”

Akechi grimaced, not pleased to be reminded of that.

“My mother was disowned by her family after she had me, and Shido left her,” Akechi recalled. “She took over control of the company, but with the arrival of dozens of scandalous rumors which only further damaged her reputation, and her financial standing, her life slowly descended into chaos. Eventually, she couldn’t take it anymore…”

“That’s horrible…” Panther looked as if she deeply pitied Akechi. “I’m sorry that happened to you.”

“Don’t give me that crap!” Akechi screamed. “Like you would know! Like _ YOU, _ of all people, would care… would understand…”

He breathed heavily for a moment before continuing.

“I was powerless to do anything about Shido— but… that’s when it happened!” He chuckled slightly, then looked upwards, arms stretched, as he yelled triumphantly,  **_“THAT’S WHEN I LEARNED ABOUT THE COGNITIVE WORLD!!!”_ **

* * *

“I assure you,” Masayoshi Shido said calmly as he addressed the National Diet, “that I, Masayoshi Shido, will be the best guide to steer this ship towards success…”

**9/13/2014 ☁ SATuRDaY Afternoon**

A tired, quietly scowling Goro Akechi scowled as he sat, watching the speech play out.

“I thank you all for visiting the Diet Building today…”

_**CANDIDATE FOUND. BEGINNING NAVIGATION...** _

Before the unsuspecting Goro’s eyes, the interior of the Diet Building suddenly transformed into a rather lavish room with a high ceiling— almost like the interior of a cruise ship. Dozens of men and women with masks milled around, discussing seemingly important matters. And Shido was no longer anywhere to be seen— his voice instead booming from several loudspeakers high above.

“What…” Goro looked around in confusion. “Where am I?”

_ “HALT!” _ shouted a mysterious figure.

Goro turned his head to see a strange, misshapen man in a bouncer suit, watching him intently. “I-I’m sorry? Am I not supposed to be here? I don’t understand how I—”

_ “You are trespassing on Lord Shido’s ship!” _ shouted the man.  _ “Come with me at once!” _

“Um…” Goro nervously backed away. “There’s no need for that, I’ll just be leaving.” But as he turned to leave, a second bouncer appeared behind him.

_ “COME!” _ shouted the bouncers.  _ “We will take you to Lord Shido!” _

* * *

Goro was now in what appeared to be the representatives chamber— or rather, this twisted Diet Building’s version of it. Shido was standing up at the top of a rather elevated podium, looking down curiously.

“Who is this intruder?!”

_ “We found him trespassing in the front, sir.” _ The bouncer creature said calmly.  _ “Shall we toss him overboard?” _

“FATHER!”

Shido turned his attention to Goro nonchalantly. “‘Father?’ I’m afraid I don’t know you. I don’t have any sons.”

“You knew my mother! Fumiko Akechi! She was your mistress!”

“Akechi…” Shido suddenly realized. “I see. So she had a child…”

Goro looked hopeful. “Please, Father, will you—”

“Kill him.”

Goro stopped in his tracks, unsure if he had just heard right. “What?! But, Father, I—”

“If you truly are Fumiko’s,” Shido informed him coldly, “that makes you a liability. I cannot allow you to remain alive, lest you possibly expose the truth of our relationship. Your very existence is a scandal, and could serve to derail my ambitions.”

“W-Why?!” Goro gasped, now shaking in fear. “Father, I-I won’t tell! I swear… please, please spare me!”

_ “So shall we cast him off?” _

“No. I want to see that the deed is done.” Shido turned his back to Goro, his face completely neutral. “You may dispose of him here.”

“No… NO!” Goro screamed. “PLEASE! NO!” Desperately, he looked up at Shido’s back and shouted… “Father… I HATE YOU!” He gritted his teeth and swallowed, convinced of his words.

And then, without any warning, his head buckled, and he heard someone else.

_ “Greetings.” _

“Who… are you?”

_ “So, you have acknowledged your disdain for your elders? Your desire to see them suffer for all they have done?” _

“I… I…”

_ “No? Then let me ask you this. Do you truly hate your father?” _

Goro said nothing.

_ “So was your mother wrong? Were you not a curse?” _

“I… I suppose she was…”

_ “You were naught but a tool of this man, only to be disposed of once you had exhausted your purpose. Is that not right?” _

“That is right.” Goro stood up slowly, as Shido’s guards backed away from him cautiously. “I was this man’s means of destroying Fumiko Akechi.”

_ “Then why not make him your tool, as well?” _

“Yes. I will not allow him to get away with this. He will soon know despair at my hands!”

_ “Good. If you are certain that that is so, we shall now agree upon a contract. Heed these words! I am thou, thou art I—” _

“AGH!” Goro crumpled to the floor, crying out in pain, as a cold plate of black steel materialized on his face.

_ “Thou shalt exact vengeance upon those villains who have ruined thee!” _

Goro screamed as he tore off his mask, and the appearance of his Persona—  _ Loki, _ he somehow knew —vaporized the Shadows before him.

And then he chuckled. A long, delighted, maniacal chuckle. The chuckle turned to a laugh, the laugh to a cackle, and…

* * *

“It was then, that I knew what I had to do!” Akechi laughed. “To gain the trust of Masayoshi Shido, and destroy him! I was going to defeat him at last, and finally prevail!”

“You can’t be serious,” Ace gasped. “Akechi… you were… you really were this disillusioned?”

“Such a warped thought,” Fox commented. “It’s almost pitiable.”

“He was at last within my grasp… and within a few short weeks, my plan would have come to fruition! But no…” He scowled at the thieves. “You just had to interfere! But now… now it doesn’t matter. I just need to kill you all… and finally kill Shido!”

“And what will you gain from that?!” Queen yelled at Akechi. “Do you really think killing us and Shido will make you happy?”

“WHO CARES?!” Akechi shrieked. “It’s all I’ve got to do! It’s all I can do! And I’ll do it… you could never kill Shido, but I’ll do it! I’ll prove that I’m better than you!”

_ “Shut up!” _ Akechi summoned Loki, and his white and gold attire began fading, in favor of a new costume. A dark, deep black, almost as colorless as charcoal. “I’ll defeat you… I’ll show you…  _ This…  _ **_THIS IS WHO I REALLY AM!”_ ** Akechi laughed maniacally, as he summoned Loki again, and cast a ray of shadow upon himself.

“Holy shit,” Skull gasped. “Is he…?!”

“He’s… he’s making himself…” Mona couldn’t believe it.

“He’s doing that thing he did before… to those Shadows,” Ace surmised, stunned. “On himself?!”

“Akechi!” Joker shouted. “What the hell are you doing?! You need to stop  _ right now!” _

**_“DON’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!!!”_ **

* * *

**4/10/2015 ☀ FRiDAY Afternoon**

“What a terrific performance, Goro,” the producer said, pleased, as Akechi came backstage. “You’re a wonderful host! As charming as Fumiko was, too!”

“Thank you, sir,” Akechi said politely, nodding his head. “I appreciate the compliment. However, could you please not mention my mother?”

_ You haven’t any business even mentioning her name, _ Akechi thought bitterly.  _ You never knew what she was going through. _

“Oh, yes! I apologize for that. I’m sure it’s a sore subject for you. After all, we all felt her loss. Such a shame that she was swept up in such terrible scandals at such an opportune time. And the fall of the Akechi Corporation— such a terrible loss!” The producer smiled and nodded. “My greatest condolences to you, Goro.”

Akechi nodded, pretending to appreciate the man’s words. “Thank you. Now, shall we move onto other business?”

“Yes, by all means! You’ve been invited to be a guest on lots of talk shows!” The producer laughed, as though this were the funniest joke in the world. “But no way in hell we’d hand over our star the Detective Prince to another network, haha! I’ve also gotten many dozens of emails from famous celebrities, asking you to visit them for dinner!”

“That’s wonderful. I might like that.” Akechi pretended to agree, smiling and nodding. Going to some fancy dinner was really the last thing he wanted to do.

“Of course, if there’s something else you’d like to do, I can easily arrange it!”

“Well, I’m not sure if—” But then, a thought came to Akechi, and he stopped.

_ This might be my chance. _

“Actually, sir, there is one thing. Might you be able to set up an appointment with Masayoshi Shido?”

The producer looked quite surprised. “Shido? Isn’t he a Diet member? That would be… very difficult. What business would you have with a man like him?”

“I’m afraid it’s rather complicated,” Akechi said matter-of-factly. “You could say, that, in a sense, I would like to work for him. I greatly admire his speeches.”

“Oh, is that so? Well, I suppose…”

“One more thing.” Akechi continued smiling. “Please stop calling me by my given name.”

“Er— uh, yes, G-er I mean, Akechi-san!” The man nervously stopped smiling. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thank you very much. I look forward to it.”

* * *

“Please stop!” Panther shouted, as she avoided Akechi’s attacks. “You’re fighting the wrong people!”

**_“SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!”_ ** Akechi shrieked deliriously.  _ “You’re all trash! You’re all the trash of society!  _ **_I will destroy all of you!”_ **

“The hell’s he talking about?!” Skull yelled.

“It doesn’t matter!” Joker yelled back. “I don’t think he knows what he’s saying! Just stop him!”

“Akechi, listen to us!” Ace shouted, as she hoisted her rifle. “I might not have liked you, but I don’t intend to hurt you! Please stop this nonsense at once!”

_ “GO TO HELL!” _

Ace released a charged rifle shot at the charging Akechi. He stumbled, taking damage from the shot and falling over.

“The… hell… was that?!” Akechi exclaimed in furious shock as he righted himself. “NO! I don’t… need… teammates… I did this… all by myself…”

* * *

**4/19/2015 ☁ SuNDAY Daytime**

“Good afternoon,” said a pleasant boy’s voice. “How do you do, Shido-san?”

Shido dropped everything and stood up, apprehensively. “Who are you?!” he demanded loudly. “Why are you in my office?!”

“Please pardon my sudden entrance, Shido-san,” Goro Akechi said, bowing respectfully, with a small smile upon his face. “My name is Goro Akechi— the Ace Detective. You may have seen me on television.”

Shido turned off the television.

“I have no idea who you are, and I did not invite you here.” He gestured to the open door. “Get out at once! And do not call me Shido-san!”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Akechi said, unfazed. “If I left now, at the start of such a long and involved relationship, it would be such a shame.”

“Wha-what do you-” Shido looked at Akechi strangely for a moment.

_ Could it be, _ Akechi wondered,  _ that he remembers my face? _

But Shido’s confused appearance almost instantly dissipated. “Never mind! Get out!”

“Shido-san,” Akechi continued, ignoring Shido’s order and staying in place. “I do not believe that would be in your interest. You see, I have… let us call them “specialties,” that may be of service to you. You may want to close the door.”

* * *

“You’re just… pieces of  _ shit… _ ” Akechi coughed. “Licking each other’s wounds… if you say you’re teammates… then…”

“Get him!” Noir yelled, rushing forward to swing her axe. “ASTARTE—  _ PSIODYNE!” _

The combination of the Psychic wave attack and the blow from Haru’s axe once again knocked Akechi to his knees.

“Why are you so obsessed with being liked?!” Joker shouted at Akechi. “Do you think we’re better than you because we’re not famous? Is that it?!”

“I locked myself in my room for two years!” Oracle added in agreement. “I’m not better than you, Akechi!”

“This is not logical!” Fox said. “What good are you thinking this is doing?”

“You need to listen to yourself!” Queen pleaded.

“I… I…” Akechi stared up at them, dizzy and confused.

“Is that what your mother would have wanted?” Ace asked.

* * *

**2/17/2009 ☁ TuESDAY Afternoon**

“Goro-kun, shame on you! Stealing a doll like that!”

“I’m sorry. I… I just never had one of my own.”

“Do you think your mother would approve of that behavior?”

“My mother…” Goro thought a moment, quiet and thoughtful. “I didn’t know my mother.”

The caretaker kept talking, but Goro barely heard him.

“Mother…”

* * *

_ “Mother…” _ The psychotic Akechi appeared, for a moment, to gain a speck of lucidity regarding his actions, and he backed away a little bit.

“Akechi.” Joker extended his crimson hand hopefully, but cautiously. “What was your mother like?”

Akechi stood still for a second—

And blinked.

“I… I don’t  _ give a damn about MY MOTHER!!! _ She doesn’t matter! She hated me! She never wanted me!”

Ace stared Akechi hard in the eye.

“I’ve seen that look before, Akechi.” Ace’s face was hard and cold, as she realized the truth. “I’ve seen it in the mirror.”

**_“SHUT YOUR MOUTH!”_ ** Akechi called upon Loki and unleashed another Almighty spell. Ace took a small bit of damage from this, but persisted.

“I know all too well, Akechi, that the worst thing a parent can do to their child is die on them,” Ace continued, her voice hard and cold. “I hated my father for so long, for dying like he did. For not…” Her voice broke slightly. “For not keeping his promise… But… I couldn’t keep hating him. And you can’t keep hating your mother for dying on you!”

“Wasn’t there anything nice that your mother ever did for you?!” Panther added, stepping forward.

“Was there never a pleasant moment in your childhood?” Fox inquired, joining in as well.

“You never had any fun?!” Skull yelled in disbelief. “I call BS on that, dude!”

“Nothing to redeem your past?” Queen contributed. “Nothing at all?”

“Nothing…” Joker hesitated. “Nothing that ever made you smile?”

“Why… why are you…” Akechi growled furiously in confusion. “What makes you think that?!”

“Because we have faith in people, Akechi!” Mona cried out, with a great and pure passion. “We have faith that the world can change! Why do you think we’re doing this?! Why do you think we try to change people’s hearts?! It’s because we have faith that humans can change for the better!”

“No… that’s  **_BULLSHIT!”_ ** Akechi raved, as a great shockwave emitted from him, sending the thieves flying away from him.  _ “You’re… all…  _ **_IDIOTS!_ ** You think… You think you understand me?!  _ YOU’LL ALL PAY!” _

“He’s angry!” Oracle warned. “Everyone, get ready for this!”

* * *

**7/16/2003 ☀ WeDNESDaY Evening**

“Mom…” Goro looked up at Fumiko with pleading eyes. “Will you read me a story?”

Fumiko smiled her best smile. “Sure. Come here, Goro.” She climbed up onto his bed, and wrapped him up in a warm, one-armed embrace. “Which one do you want? Robin Hood again?”

“Yeah!” Goro smiled enthusiastically. “Definitely Robin Hood! He’s the coolest hero!”

“All right, all right,” Fumiko laughed, pulling out the book from Goro’s tiny shelf. “I bet you want to be like Robin Hood when you grow up, don’t you?”

“Yeah!” Goro confirmed, sounding very sure of himself. “Isn’t that why Dad’s not here? Because he’s like Robin Hood?”

Fumiko’s smile faded slightly.

Goro looked concerned.

“Mom, is something wrong?”

“Goro… it’s… it’s complicated.” She set down the book. “Your father’s not really like Robin Hood. He’s more… He’s more like the Sheriff.”

Goro wore a face of surprised awe. “So… Dad is the bad guy?”

After a short pause, Fumiko nodded ever so slightly.

“Yes, Goro. He’s a bad guy.”

There was a brief interlude of silence as Goro took this in. “Oh…”

Fumiko seemed to be wondering if she’d said the wrong thing. “Goro. Are you alright?”

“Well…” And then Goro smiled. “Well, that’s okay!”

“Oh!” This certainly hadn’t been a reaction Fumiko had been able to anticipate. “It’s really okay?”

“Yeah! Bad guys are cool too!” Goro nodded eagerly. “After all, the heroes need bad guys to be heroes, right?”

“Well… I suppose that’s true.” Fumiko beamed at her son, delighted by his childishly positive outlook. “All right. Can I read the story now?”

“Yeah!” Goro was almost bouncing up and down with excitement. “Come on, read it!”

“Okay, okay.” Fumiko picked up the book and opened it to the first page.

* * *

_ “AGGGH!!!” _ Akechi groaned as he fell. “No… No… I don’t… I’m better… I’ve succeeded all by myself… I don’t… I don’t need teammates… I don’t…”

He breathed heavily, exhausted by the battle, as the effects of his own psychotic spell wore off.

“You ready to call at quits?” Skull asked, cracking his knuckles.

“I know.” Akechi admitted reluctantly, as he stood up weakly, drained. “I’ve had enough. You’re so lucky…” He turned to Joker. “Lucky, to be surrounded by teammates who acknowledge you. And once Shido confesses his crimes— you’ll all be heroes.”

He pulled out a small envelope— the letter of introduction —and threw it over to the team. It landed at Joker’s feet. “Here. You’ll need that.”

Joker bent down carefully, examined it, and, satisfied that it was genuine, tucked it away in his coat and gave an appreciative nod. “Thanks.”

Akechi snickered, smiling defeatedly. “And as for me… people will find out all my past deductions were just charade. My fame and trust will vanish.”

"I see.” Mona realized. "So you turned people psychotic, then solved the cases yourself."

Akechi nodded. "In the end… I couldn't be special…"

"Dude," Skull said, "you're more than special."

Akechi looked up, surprised. "... What?"

"It pains me to admit," Queen told him, "but your wit and strength far exceeds ours. I was honestly envious of your natural ability."

"Yeah," Joker added, "you nearly got us. It was only because we all worked together that we defeated you."

"It was frustrating," Ace contributed, "to think how I once trusted you so… but you are truly something, Akechi. Your power appears to possess similar properties to my own. I was surprised by how evenly matched we seemed to be."

"I have no intention of forgiving you for what you did to me… to all of us… and to my father," Noir told him kindly, "but, I understand. I see that you wanted to get back at the adults who took from you."

"But when you gained the power to achieve that goal," Fox continued, “you did nothing but abuse it to your own selfish ends."

"If you have the ability to use multiple Personas," Oracle noted, "you probably have the same talents as Joker. But your power was fueled by lies and hate..."

"Hang on…" Joker murmured to himself.  _ The same talents? _

“Akechi, what do you know about the Vel—”

“Who the hell is that?!” Skull suddenly interrupted, pointing at something far in the distance.

Joker made a cross look at Skull. “What are you doing?! This isn’t a time for jokes!”

“That’s no joke!” Oracle warned. “That’s… that’s…”

And then as Joker saw what it was, the team let out a collective shout of shock…  _ “AKECHI?!” _

It was Akechi— except he looked different. He was wearing Akechi’s normal brown and grey detective outfit, and he looked… unreal. His eyes were pure, free of all emotion.

“Shido’s cognitive Akechi!” Mona finished. “That’s… that’s crazy! He’s like…”

“He’s like a freakin’ robot!” Skull exclaimed.

The cognitive Akechi leveled a pistol at the real Akechi's head. "Captain Shido's orders… he has no need for losers. Heh, I do wonder how you're here, considering that Shido already killed you…"

"What?!" The real Akechi was stunned. "Why is this—”

"The captain is puzzled as to how you came back, but no matter," Cognitive Akechi went on, "he will get rid of you as many times as needed before you run out of luck… it's time you receive retribution for causing the mental shutdowns."

"B-But— what the hell?!" Skull shouted incredulously. "That bastard's the one who put him up to it!"

Akechi chuckled, extremely amused. "I see… hahaha! I was wondering how he'd protect himself if I used my power to tear through his Palace… and it's this. You. A puppet to kill me… Seems like something he'd do."

He pulled out his own firearm and aimed it as his cognitive self. "So, my final enemy is a puppet version of myself! Not ba—"

**_BANG_ **

**_TECHNICAL_ **

The cognitive Akechi stumbled, surprised by the impact of the shot.

The real Akechi looked in confusion. He had not pulled the trigger. And then he looked to the team—

“Sae-san!”

_ “I won’t let Shido take another life!” _ Ace declared, rushing forwards to attack the cognitive Akechi with her bayoneta. “Not even yours, Akechi!  _ IRENE!” _

_ “With pleasure.” _

Irene emerged as Ace pointed at the cognitive Akechi.  _ “Your time is up!” _

“What are you doing?!” the cognitive Akechi yelled in surprise, as he avoided Ace’s attacks. “Sae Niijima! You think you could defeat me?! Foolish woman! You were nothing but a tool for Shido!”

“Just watch!” Ace stabbed Shido’s twisted image of Akechi straight in the chest. “I’m not going to let myself be used by men anymore! I won’t let Shido deceive this country!”

The cognition snarled, struggling to push the blade out. “You… really think so? Even if you stop Shido… There will still be the masses! They will still desire—”

_“IRENE— **SLAY!”** _

Irene fired forth a light spell, and the cognitive Akechi screamed as he was vaporized.

**_CRITICAL_ **

“They… will desire…  _ ignoransssssssss…!” _

With the enemy gone, Ace breathed hard and stowed her rifle. The Phantom Thieves, and the real Akechi, stared at her in shock…

“What was that, Sae-san?” Akechi was thoroughly enraged.  _ “What the hell did you do that for?!” _

“You were never going to be able to win that fight,” Sae said calmly to Akechi. “I was saving your life. You may have deceived me, but I won’t stand for you or anyone else walking into one of Shido’s deathtraps!”

"You thought that was going to be a fight? I was well aware I was never going to come out of that!” Akechi protested. “You fool! All of you— fools! You should have just left me here ages ago! I was going to save you all from him! I was going to let him kill me! I- _ I deserved to die at his hands for all I've done—” _

“So you were trying to get yourself killed.” Joker’s voice was filled with disgust. “Did I hear that right?”

“Are you some kinda nut?!” Skull was incredulous. “You don’t deserve to die, Akechi!”

"You were going to needlessly sacrifice yourself," Queen summarized incredulously, "simply because you 'deserved' it? And to 'save us' from your cognitive self? Why?!"

"That doesn't make any sense," Noir agreed, "why would you do such a thing?"

"Indeed. It seems to me that you simply wanted to die, and to die in a spectacular manner, so that we would appreciate you afterwards," Fox scolded. "I can't help but consider that a rather conceited line of thought."

"But—” Akechi did not seem to comprehend this. “I killed you! Sae-san! Why would you save me? Don't you want revenge?!"

"It is true, that I cannot forgive you for murdering all of us," Ace told him, "but that doesn't mean I will stand back and allow Shido's monsters to take the life of a child."

"You're being silly," Mona added. "Ace just saved you, Akechi. Aren't you grateful?"

"I-I-I…” Akechi seemed to have lost all his words.

"Akechi," Joker said, firmly, "you're going to get out of our way now, and let us change Shido's heart, right? If you're not going to be of any help to us, just get the hell out of here before more of Shido's minions show up to try and off you."

Akechi was silent.

Panther waved in the general direction of the exit. "Like Joker said, if all you're going to do is complain about being saved— then just leave!"

Disbelief and confusion laced across his face, Akechi stood up and departed.

The thieves were all quiet for a moment.

“I guess he’s just gonna go kill himself somewhere else,” Skull said, sounding disappointed. “Well, not like there’s anything we can do about it.”

There was no comment from anyone.

“Well, uh…” Oracle nervously broke the silence. “We have all the letters, right? We should go secure our route to the Treasure and go back to make our plan.”

Joker nodded in agreement. “Yeah. Let’s get out of here.”

* * *

**12/22/2016 ☀ THuRSDAY Evening**

Leblanc was dusty, deserted— and nearly empty. Much of the coffee and ingredients had been used by the members of SPEEDS, and Kawakami had taken home many of the dishes to wash them.

Mishima sat quietly at the bar, watching the news. There was more of the usual stuff about Shido, ads for the Phantom Thieves television special, and more of the same old same old…

Takemi knocked on the tightly locked door. Mishima got up, opened it and let her in, before promptly locking it again.

Takemi noted this with curious contemplation. “Seems you’re a little paranoid. Perhaps you should have some tea.”

Mishima narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Tea with… ?”

“One of my special remedies.”

“I’d rather not drink anything you cooked up.”

“Oh, come on. That hurts my feelings.” Takemi reached into her purse, which was small and black and had a white first-aid symbol on it. After a moment of searching, she pulled out a small chewable pill of some sort. “At least take this.”

“What is it?”

“Something to calm your nerves.”

“Will it… make me feel weird?”

“Just take it.”

Mishima took the pill reluctantly and shoved it into his mouth. A strange tingling sensation came over him as he chewed it. It tasted bizarre, like an odd combination of vegetable juice and aspirin. “What…?!”

He felt his head hit the floor as he lost consciousness.

* * *

**12/22/2016 ☀ THuRSDAY Evening**

As the group re-entered Leblanc from the grayscale world, Akira sighed in relief. “That was a lot for one day of infiltration.”

Everyone else, tired as well, went and took a seat.

Futaba attempted to turn on the TV, but nothing happened. It hadn’t worked since the first day in the dream world, when it had given the team the clues they needed to find Shido’s Palace.

“Where am I?”

Ryuji looked up from the manga he was reading. “Wha-Mishima?! How the hell did you get here?”

Ann likewise looked perfectly stunned. “No… don’t tell me… are you dead too?!”

Sae looked puzzled. “I-I don’t recognize you… Who are you exactly?”

Mishima, sitting on one of the stools in Leblanc, looked just as surprised as anyone. “I-I… wait…” His face suddenly lit up with excited relief. “You’re all alive?!”

“Uh, no, Mishima… we’re dead,” Akira corrected. “I think you must be asleep.”

“What? Oh… oh, so that medicine Takemi gave me…” Mishima looked disappointed. “So she made a medicine that sends me to the afterlife! I get it… I think.”

“I don’t think you do,” Haru told him, looking baffled by his reaction. “Then again, I don’t quite understand it either.”

Akira sat down on the stool adjacent to him. “I’ll explain everything. Want some coffee?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much to note today, except: This was very hard to write for two reasons. One, I had a real bitch of a time figuring out how to convey the lore I'd dreamed up to fill in Akechi's history. Two, I was in a real shit mood for a few days, and spent roughly seventy percent of the time between this chapter and last not writing much at all. What little I did write in that time got cut. Then my mood improved and I spat out this chapter within the past couple days.
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed this!


	23. Pumpkin

**12/22/2016 ☀ THuRSDAY Evening**

I hurried down the narrow streets of Yongen-Jaya, my notebook and pen in hand as I briskly passed by the locals and police officers patrolling the area. I avoided eye contact with any of them as I went, doing my best to keep a low profile. I couldn’t allow myself to be seen heading in the direction of Leblanc Cafe.

Despite Mishima urging me not to come back, I just couldn’t let this go. Something told me that there was still something to find here. Even if the Phantom Thieves were dead, I was certain I’d still get a good story out of this. A story worthy of the school paper.

It was really a shame that due to the Prime Minister’s new regulation, I would probably not be able to publish such a story without— at the very least —expulsion from school. Getting expelled was certainly the last thing I wanted. I couldn’t jeopardize my future for such a cause.

I’m sure one might wonder: if I care so much about my social standing, why then, would I bother investigating at all? That’s an easy question. It is because I am such a seasoned school journalist, with such terrific expertise in investigation and stealth, that I have no chance whatsoever of being caught. So I was in no danger.

“Excuse me, little lady, what are you doing here?”

It appeared I had made a small mistake in the process of blending into the scenery.

“Yes, officer, can I help you?”

“This area is off-limits.” The man wore a businesslike black suit and held a badge. He was almost unmistakably a cop. What kind of cop he was, was an entirely separate matter. I was fairly certain that he wasn’t a good one.

“Says who?” I snapped, staring coldly at the not-good cop. “You should tell that to all the citizens who live here and are happily smoking on their porches and selling perfectly good products at their small places of business. As a matter of fact,” I pointed to a small food stand nearby, “I think I may as well buy myself something to eat. Now, if you’ll please excuse me.”

I began to approach the food stand, but the cop grabbed my arm and pulled me back towards himself.

“Listen, little girl,” he hissed in my ear, as he very impolitely violated my highly valuable personal space. “This neighborhood ain’t very safe. Lots of shady characters around here.” He let go of my arm and pushed me away. “I suggest you buy your snack and go home.”

I looked behind him, seeing several other officers slowly approaching the alleyway in which Leblanc was located. They looked familiar.

Of course! They were… they’d arrested Niijima! And this man…

“Say, you look familiar,” he said, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

Still sprawled out on the ground, I scampered away from him. “You should get away from me,” I spat. “I have pepper spray.”

The cop didn’t seem to buy into my bluff. He looked like he might try to stomp on my glasses— again. While they were still on my face.

Seeing as I hadn’t much of a desire to get my face stomped on, I stood up and rushed away from the alleyway. Once I was sure that I was out of the sight of the police, I turned around and took an alternate route to Leblanc.

I needed to warn them. Not because it was my problem, but because otherwise, I’d of course have to find something else to do with my time— and that would surely be far too troublesome.

* * *

**12/22/2016 ☀ THuRSDAY Evening**

“And that’s how we got here,” Akira finished, taking the last sip of his coffee.

“So…” Mishima looked a little overwhelmed. “Whoa, this is a lot to take in. But… you’re planning to come back from the dead… and the Prime Minister is evil?”

“Yup! That about sums it up,” Morgana agreed. “And we’re gonna steal Shido’s heart!”

At hearing his voice, Mishima nearly jumped out of his stool in surprise. “Akira… your cat can _talk?!”_

“Yep! You surprised?”

“He can!” Haru confirmed, happily scooping up Morgana in her arms and petting his head. “Mona-chan’s one of us!”

“Ow! Let go of me!” Morgana protested, struggling to free himself from Haru’s clutches. Haru only giggled playfully as she continued to stroke his fur.

“Whoa…” Mishima was thoroughly astonished. “This is crazy! Who’d ever suspect a cat of being a Phantom Thief?! You guys are amazing!”

“So, dude, what’s been happening on your end?” Ryuji asked Mishima.

“Oh, man! It’s a really long story.” Mishima put his finger to his chin. “Where would I even begin?! Well… I got together everyone else to try and find you guys! Then the head of the Newspaper Club got in our business, and Shido made an announcement that—”

Suddenly, there was a small noise of static. Everyone looked up, to see—

“What?!” Futaba gaped at it in disbelief. “But the TV hasn’t been working!”

“It must be something Mishima is dreaming about,” Akira speculated curiously. “I’ve had similar dreams before…”

_“And now, we’re taking a break from the regular news to bring you all a special message from our Prime Minister— Masayoshi Shido-sama!”_

“Wha-” Mishima gasped as he realized what it was. “It’s… it’s that announcement! The message that Shido broadcast!”

_“Greetings! It is I, Masayoshi Shido! I have a message tonight, to all remaining supporters of the Phantom Thieves.”_

“So Shido took to the air to denounce us,” Yusuke gathered, staring at the TV with a bemused look on his face. “I see…”

_“The Phantom Thieves have recently died. Their identities cannot be revealed as of yet, but, you may rest assured that this great country is now safe from their menace. However, it has come to my attention that, despite that, there are still citizens who have pledged support to these treacherous Phantom Thieves of Hearts. This is completely unacceptable. It is considered treason, and will be punished.”_

“He can’t be serious!” Sae burst out, thoroughly appalled. “That’s not a punishable offense!”

“Well, Shido’s Prime Minister,” reasoned Ann, “so I guess it is now…”

_“Any public work, image, recording, broadcast, or other manner of communication that expresses any positive messages relating to the Phantom Thieves will be condemned and erased, and the one responsible for creating it shall face grave consequences! If you are supporting these criminals, you shall be found and properly prosecuted under the law!_

_“And now, with that said— I have a special announcement to make. The SNN is producing a television special on the Phantom Thieves, which I have graciously chosen to sponsor. We shall reveal the history behind their crimes, so that Japan is never threatened by similar groups ever again! It will be broadcast on Christmas Day, in lieu of the normal Christmas broadcast. You may look forward to it.”_

The TV abruptly switched itself off.

“That’s…” Mishima looked like he understood. “I get it now. That’s all I saw of it.”

“Well,” Akira remarked, looking at the now-blank TV screen nonchalantly, “that sure changes a lot.”

“So, it’s that TV special that the TV station president was talking about,” Makoto said, nodding her head. “Of course! And it’s on Christmas!”

“We can’t allow that to be aired,” Morgana asserted. “We’ve got to stop it!”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“The SSN shouldn’t be hard to hack,” Futaba said with confidence. “We’ll take it down before Shido can leak our identities!”

“But won’t we be arrested anyway?” Haru wondered. “If they know who we are, then…”

“I don’t think so,” Sae said reassuringly. “There’s no actual evidence against you all. Much of the police who are in Shido’s pocket are likely acting unofficially, so once they haven’t got him to take orders from, any attempt to arrest you will likely go by the wayside. And besides—” she smiled at all of the thieves faithfully “—even if they try, it won’t be easy. I’ll be pulling a few strings of my own.”

“So I guess what we’ll have to do,” Makoto supposed, “is to disrupt the airing of this TV special, and announce our plan to steal Shido’s heart in its place. Everyone will be watching it, so it’ll be the most opportune time to do so.”

“Alright!” Ryuji pumped his fist excitedly. “And then it’ll be time for people to start coming to their senses!”

Mishima looked excited, in spite of his clear state of confusion. “Well… I don’t get it, but— Everyone will be happy to know you’re all safe! We’ve all been really worried!”

Akira nodded eagerly. “Make sure you tell Kawakami to expect us.”

“What?” Mishima looked puzzled. “Why Kawakami?”

“Just tell her that her master is going to need a favor,” Akira told Mishima confidently. “After all, hanging out at Leblanc would be way too suspicious, right? We don’t want to draw the attention of the cops in Shido’s pocket.”

“Yeah— Oh right!” Mishima was suddenly alarmed. “Crap! I gotta go!”

Several faraway sounding voices suddenly rang through the cafe…

_Mishima-kun! Wake up!_

“I’ll see you on the other side!” Mishima said enthusiastically, as he began fading in and out. “How… How do I leave?”

“Just go out the door and find the exit! Or pinch yourself, I guess. I’m not really sure.” Akira shrugged sheepishly. “Akechi usually used the door.”

“I’ll… I guess I’ll try that, then!” The bell dinged as Mishima rushed outside, and the door to the dream Leblanc open and shut. “Bye, everyone!”

* * *

**12/22/2016 ☀ THuRSDAY Evening**

“Hm. That was interesting.”

“Takemi-san, he seems pretty beat. Are you sure the kid’s okay?”

“He’ll be fine, Iwai-san. He’s been through worse.”

“Is Mishima-senpai gonna be alright?”

“Seems like a rather dirty move to make. You should have warned him this might happen.”

“Perhaps, Hifumi-chan, but— ah, he’s coming to. Stand back. He may react aggressively to the situation, depending on what dreams he’s had.”

Mishima’s eyes fluttered open. “Oh… man… wait… Akira!”

“Ah,” Takemi noted, “you’re awake. How do you feel?”

Mishima urgently bolted upright. “Akira’s alive!” he shouted urgently. “Well, not really, they’re actually dead and in a dream world that looks exactly like Leblanc and has a TV that plays back memories! But they’re coming back from the dead, and they’re going to stop the TV special and steal Shido’s heart!” He energetically grabbed a shocked Takemi by the shoulders, looking her in the eyes gratefully. “Thanks for that whatever-it-was! It really helped!”

Everyone stared at him in confusion.

“So…” Ohya gave Takemi a strange look. “That was supposed to calm his nerves?”

“Um…” Takemi looked extremely concerned. “I think I may need to tweak the formula. Are you sure you’re alright?”

_“I’VE NEVER FELT BETTER!”_

“Um… You’re sure.”

“I’M REALLY SURE!” Mishima shouted, letting go of Takemi and turning to face everyone else. “Look, you all have to believe me! You’ll see! They’re really going to cheat death!”

“This…” Hifumi carefully pondered Mishima’s words for a moment. “No. That isn’t possible. Not even Akira could…”

“Kid, I don’t know what you saw, but you really need to stop taking this doctor’s drugs,” Iwai advised.

“Yeah, come on!” Shinya glared at Mishima, crossing his arms crossly. “This ain’t Gun About, Mishima-senpai! They can’t respawn after a game over!”

 _“I’M NOT CRAZY!”_ Mishima insisted, frustrated. “Kawakami-sensei! Akira said your master’s going to need a favor!”

Kawakami’s face was blank for a moment.

“Well, Akira-kun would… I suppose…”

“Come on!” Ohya said reproachfully. “You don’t seriously believe him? He’s gotta be just losing it from all the stress!”

Kawakami swallowed. “Well— I don’t know. I’m just keeping an open mind. After all, Akira’s pulled off lots of crazy things in the past, hasn’t he? After all, less than a year ago, ‘stealing hearts’ seemed like a fantasy too—”

“It ain’t the same thing!” Iwai looked confused. “Ah— well, hell, what do I know? I still don’t get how they—”

“I think it’s true.”

Everyone turned in surprise to look at Chihaya.

“What makes you think that, Chihaya-san?” Hifumi inquired.

“The cards. It all makes sense now!” Chihaya’s face was lit up as she pieced things together. “The fortune I read when he asked me about his dreams! He was… it was… of course!” She looked into her palms puzzlingly. “But… then how is it that…”

“Hey,” Mishima asked, looking about the cafe dizzily, “where’s Yoshida?”

“I believe he said in a text that he had some work to do,” Hifumi recalled. “Something about rewriting a speech.”

There was suddenly another familiar ding as someone else opened the door.

“You should all probably leave.”

“Who’re you?!” Iwai demanded. “And why’s that? What’s going on?”

“You!” Mishima shouted incredulously. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“I’m just looking for a story,” Newspaper-chan replied in a tired voice. “I only happened to pass by a rather impolite cop and his pals. You should get out of here before we all get the same thing that happened to Niijima-senpai.”

“The cops are coming?” Shinya was instantly panicked, and began frantically looking for a way out. “Oh man, what do we do?!”

Ohya stared at Newspaper-chan, stunned. “Pumpkin… Why are you…?!”

Almost immediately, the young journalist discarded her cold, neutral facade.

“Auntie Ichiko, I was only—”

“What?” His surprise growing more and more apparent, Mishima looked between Newspaper-chan and Ohya. “You two are related?!”

“I’m her mother’s sister.” Ohya rushed behind the counter and located Leblanc’s rear door. “Come on. We can escape this way.”

Everyone speedily followed Ohya, while Iwai lingered to check the counters.

“What are you doing, Iwai-san?!” Kawakami yelled at him.

“I gotta make sure we don’t leave nothing behind!” Iwai explained. “Just get on outta here!”

The rest of SPEEDS and Newspaper-chan disappeared into the alleyway, shutting the door behind them. Meanwhile, Iwai checked around the tables and under the stools.

“Well, that’s that,” he said. Satisfied, he rushed for the back door— but the front dinged once more.

_“STOP RIGHT THERE!”_

Iwai spun around to face the intruders.

“Who the hell’re you?!” Iwai barked at them. _Should’ve locked the damn door again..._

“This area is off-limits! You’re under arrest for treason and conspiracy!”

“What’re you talking about?” Iwai demanded. “You got nothing on me. How about you get the hell outta here and stop poking your nose where ya don’t belong?”

Ignoring his complaints, the men in black suits placed handcuffs on his wrists and began escorting him towards the door.

“Say, I recognize you,” one of them said. “Didn’t you used to be yakuza? What a surprise…”

“It ain’t none of your business, asshole.”

The cop scowled. “I don’t like your tone.”

“Well, I guess you can go fu-”

But before Iwai could finish his sentence, the man threw a punch square to his jaw, and everything went black.

* * *

**12/22/2016 ☀ THuRSDAY Evening**

As everyone went up the stairs to rest in the attic, Makoto looked back at her older sister.

Even after everything that had happened, Sae still seemed to prefer to isolate herself somewhat from the rest of the group. She was quiet, apparently lost in thought…

Makoto swallowed her feelings, preparing herself for the conversation she was about to initiate. This was not to be taken lightly whatsoever. Sae had a right to know the truth about Akira, and now was the time to admit it.

“Sis?”

Sae turned to Makoto with a soft smile. “Yes?”

“I have something I need to tell you.” Makoto gulped nervously. “About Akira.”

Sae seemed to understand. “This is about what you were going to say before?”

“Uh… Yes.”

She nodded pleasantly, trying her best to lighten Makoto’s mood. “I’m sorry if I made you nervous before. I was a little too uptight. It was all… a lot to take in. It was one thing to learn you were a Phantom Thief… but a whole other matter that you… found someone.”

Makoto gulped. “Well, yeah… I know it would probably be a lot to—”

“Like I was saying before—”

“I mean, to find out that we, uh, did, uh, had, if we… had…”

“I’m not mad if you went on a date with him.”

“Uh, yeah if we had— what?” Makoto stared blankly for a moment. “A date? I thought we were talking about—”

“So you did go that far?” Sae smiled approvingly. “And it was fun?”

Makoto’s face turned red with confusion.

“Uh— Sis! I thought you meant— I thought you were asking if we’d had—”

“I don’t under—” And then it was Sae’s time to turn red, as she realized how her words had been misinterpreted. “Wait, do you mean to say that you and Akira—”

“Not at all!” Makoto hastily said, covering her mouth. “I mean… we maybe… did that too… but, uh— Yeah! Dating! It’s fun!”

Sae gave her baby sister a cross look.

Then after a moment, her expression lightened.

“Oh, Makoto— It’s… Well, it’s fine if you did that too. I mean, you’re almost of age— I just— I just meant— oh my god, I don’t know how to talk about this…” Sae shook her head, amazed at her own foolishness.

Makoto stood nervously for a moment.

“Well, I’m glad it’s fun.” Sae smiled again, nodding at her sister. “He’s good to you, right?”

“Yeah.” Makoto nodded as she breathed outwards in relief, the tension in her ribs now diffused. “He’s really good.”

“Good.” Sae looked happy to hear it. “If he ever hurts you, I swear he’s getting it from me and that big rifle I have in the Metaverse.”

“Oh, Sis.” Makoto shook her head in exasperation. “Please don’t.”

* * *

**12/22/2016 ☀ THuRSDAY Evening**

“Where’s Iwai-san?” Mishima wondered, as the members of SPEEDS entered Kawakami’s apartment, followed by Newspaper-chan.

“Hopefully he’ll catch up with us soon,” Takemi said as she took a seat at the tiny apartment’s miniscule dining table. “Kawakami-san, do you have any food?”

“Not really, unless you’d like to eat some cheap three-week old bento,” Kawakami replied regretfully. “But—” she gestured to a pile of dishes and ingredients from Leblanc “—I can make us a nice pot of Sakura-san’s coffee.”

“Would you, please?” Hifumi inquired eagerly. “I don’t believe I’ve ever had an opportunity to try it.”

“Certainly,” Kawakami said, smiling pleasantly as she opened a jar of beans.

“I’d like some too,” Newspaper-chan said. “I quite liked it when you served it before, sensei. With lots of sugar, please!”

“I’m afraid there won’t be any time for coffee, Pumpkin.”

The arrogant school journalist turned to her elder with a rather cross look. “And why’s that, Auntie Ichiko?”

“You’re going home.” Ohya frowned coldly upon her niece. “This is much too dangerous for you to get involved. I’m breaking your mother’s rule of law just by being in the same room as you. It’s late. Shiori must be worried sick!”

Newspaper-chan scowled angrily as Ohya told her off.

“Oh! So it’s okay for him,” she pointed to Mishima, _“him,”_ indicating Shinya, “and _her…”_ pointing at Hifumi, “but not me?!”

All three of those Newspaper-chan had pointed to looked somewhat surprised, now giving their full attention to her argument with Ohya.

“They’re not family!” Ohya shot back. “They chose to get involved in this themselves, and I haven’t the power to stop them. If they get in trouble with their family, that’s their choice, and I respect that. It’s not my responsibility!”

“And I’m not your responsibility!” Newspaper-chan shouted. “You aren’t Mother! I’m not your child, Ichiko! I choose this too!”

“That’s right. You’re not my child, Pumpkin. But Shiori told me to stay away, and I’ve got no choice in the matter. I’m sorry we can’t see each other, but you need to go home!”

“You think this has anything to do with seeing you?! I’ve been avoiding you, Ichiko! I know full well what will happen if Mother finds out about this! This isn’t about you. I’m just trying to keep Mother from leaving Tokyo!”

“Why would she just suddenly up and leave Tokyo?! She has a job here! She has a stable life with her daughter!”

“You don’t know that!” Newspaper-chan shrieked, frustrated. “You haven’t seen her come home from the orphanage, raving about what’ll happen when Father comes back! I can’t be lifted out of this life just because of her nonsensical delusions!”

Ohya scowled, and took a few short, deep breaths…

“It’s all about you, isn’t it? All about your life, your story, _your_ convenience. You don’t care about me or your mother or whether or not your father might be still alive—”

“No. Not even that.” Newspaper-chan looked her aunt straight in the eyes, not bothering to deny it. “I don’t matter. I don’t matter to anyone. Least of all myself.”

The entirety of SPEEDS looked disgusted at hearing these words.

“Get out.”

It was not Ohya who spoke these words, but Kawakami.

Newspaper-chan looked at Kawakami in surprise. “But sensei— your coffee.”

“I may be devoted to supporting my students, but I won’t waste my efforts trying to help a student who doesn’t even help themselves.” Kawakami’s face had taken on an unusually strict, yet sorrowful, look. “I can’t help you, Newspaper-chan. Get out of my home.”

For a moment, the young journalist did nothing, only grimacing angrily at Kawakami.

Then, not looking at her aunt— or anyone else, for that matter —Newspaper-chan stood, and exited the apartment, slamming the door behind her.

The whole room was now silent, save for the sound of the coffee pot hissing as Kawakami tended to the brew.

“Why…” Chihaya awkwardly broke the silence. “Why do you call her Pumpkin, Ohya-san?”

“She used to have this ridiculous orange hair,” Ohya recalled pensively. “Like that guy from the ghost anime.”

"Whoa, that sounds so cool!" Shinya said excitedly. "I love that anime! Did she ever talk about the part where—"

“Why doesn’t she have it anymore?” Hifumi asked, as she signaled Shinya to shut up.

“She stopped liking it.”

“Then why still call her Pumpkin, if she doesn’t like it?” Kawakami inquired.

Ohya sighed, slightly exasperated to be reminded of it.

“She doesn’t like her name, either.”

Mishima sat quietly, pondering the events that had just transpired. “So, uh… What’d her dad do?”

Ohya said nothing.

After a moment, she turned to Kawakami, and glanced at the kettle.

“Do you have anything stronger than coffee?”

* * *

**12/22/2016 ☀ THuRSDAY Evening**

Iwai slowly came to, feeling rather dizzy as he found himself in a dark, sterile, underground room. He had been handcuffed to a rather uncomfortable chair, and the men in black suits were quietly observing.

“What the hell’s this all about?!” Iwai demanded of his captors, as he got his bearings. “Where am I? Any of you goons gonna let me out of this stupid chair?!”

The apparent leader of the men kicked him, and he fell over, his upper jaw colliding with the floor as he went down with his chair. Iwai coughed, spitting blood out of his mouth. In spite of the assault, however, he didn’t seem bothered much. He only looked super pissed.

“It ain’t polite to attack a defenseless civilian, bud.”

“Whom are these other treasonous individuals who still have the nerve to champion the Phantom Thieves?”

“Couldn’t tell you. Wouldn’t tell you if I knew. So quit wasting your brief, officer. Now could you lemme the hell out of here? I got a shop to look after.”

This earned Iwai another hearty punch to the gut. He took it in stride, however, only glaring irritably at the men in black suits.

“If you ain’t gonna talk,” Iwai’s interrogator said, as he retrieved a syringe full of ominously pale liquid from his suit pocket, “we got ways to make you talk.”

Iwai laughed. “Good luck with that, bud.”

“Oh, I think you’ll find we’ll have some very good luck. This was used on the Phantom Thief who committed suicide in custody. I’m sure it’ll work wonders on you too…”

Iwai’s face took on a disbelieving, furious expression. “You fed that crap to a _kid?!”_

The man poked the syringe into Iwai’s neck, and injected the serum into his bloodstream. He struggled, but found himself held down…

After a moment, the men let go, and withdrew the syringe. Iwai coughed, and puked a little onto the floor. “Oh fuck…”

And then his head hung still.

“He’s still awake,” one of the others noted. “Just the right dosage. Seemed we learned our lesson with that kid.”

The man leading the interrogation smiled despicably. “So… let us try again. Who are the others who champion the Phantom Thieves and oppose Shido-sama?”

Iwai looked upwards, his expression blank and docile. He opened his mouth, and—

He smirked.

The men in black suits appeared confused.

“You think this is my first rodeo?” Iwai asked, in a derisive, triumphantly smartass tone. “Your lame-ass poison ain’t gonna work on me. I’m a tougher cookie than that.”

The lead interrogator balled his hand into a fist. “How _dare_ you—!”

“How about you assholes just let me go?” Iwai suggested. “I’d think this is just real embarrassing for the both of us.”

Another powerful punch was thrown to the ex-yakuza’s perpetually grinning face, and, once again, he was out cold.

* * *

**12/23/2016 ☀ FRiDAY Daytime**  
**Days Until Television Special: 2**  
**Steal Shido's Heart**  
**「Stop broadcast」**  
**「Send calling card」**

The cleaner had been defeated, the mystery revealed. Akechi had been put in his place, his game won. Shido’s Palace had now been completely conquered. And soon, it would be time to conquer Shido himself.

Joker was plenty ready to take down the Prime Minister. He’d successfully stolen all his adversaries’ hearts up to this point. Bested Crow. Expelled the demon of his dream world. And now, with the Phantom Thieves in tow, Joker was about to emerge victorious in the face of death, as well.

But, for Akira Kurusu, it was a lot to take in.

Akira had been brutally murdered with a bullet to the brain— and no matter how many times he reminded himself that Joker was about to come back, and exact revenge upon the man responsible —he was certain that he could still feel the blood sweat. That spot where Akechi’s pistol had pierced his skull.

“It’s alright. Everything’s okay.”

Akira turned his head. “Um, Makoto—”

“Are you thinking about Akechi?”

“Well, we _did_ just fight him yesterday.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Makoto turned quiet, her face cold and solemn.

Akira looked at her blankly, feigning cluelessness.

“Akira. Please don’t hide from me like this.”

Akira gulped.

“Right…”

“I got shot too.”

“Right.”

They were silent for a moment.

“I think it’s different for everyone else because… well…”

“It was different. Impersonal.” Akira nodded in agreement. “But well, now…”

“Akechi’s probably dead now.”

“He was already dead, wasn’t he?”

“Really _really_ dead.” Makoto put her arms on Akira’s shoulders. “If he really wanted to die…”

“Maybe he was right.” Akira breathed heavily as he uttered the words. “Maybe we should have let him go.”

“You know we couldn’t do that.” Makoto gave Akira a cold, sweet kiss. “I don’t think you would ever forgive yourself if we didn’t save him.”

“I… I didn’t do anything.” Akira swallowed nervously— he hadn’t expected the kiss. “Sae did it all. Your sister is… she’s…”

“She’s rational. Even in the face of the shock that had us so… overwhelmed… we all just…”

“Why didn’t we help?!” Akira gasped, frustrated. “I know he killed us all… but… your sister was so ready to save him! And I just… stood there.”

“You’re not perfect, Akira. And nor am I.” Makoto gave him a warm, reassuring look. “And neither are Joker or Queen. Just because you act invincible doesn’t mean you really are. Or that Joker is.”

Akira nodded.

“Okay.”

“So don’t… don’t you dare ever think that being a Phantom Thief precludes you from having faults. That’s the worst crime you could ever be guilty of.”

Akira smirked. “Worse than stealing your heart?”

“I… what?!” Makoto was baffled. “Akira, I never said stealing my heart was a bad thing—”

Akira closed his eyes, and silenced her with a kiss of his own— even deeper and longer than the one Makoto had given to him.

It took a moment for Makoto to catch on— but once her mind caught up with the present, she, too, closed her eyes and reciprocated the act. She broke her arms from Akira’s shoulders, instead wrapping them around his back, and feeling his hair. They began audibly moaning into each other, almost as if—

“Hey!”

The couple broke free and turned to face who had interrupted them.

The remainder of the team was standing at the door to Leblanc, carrying bags of possessions, with Ryuji taking center stage. He looked boyishly giddy at what he had just witnessed.

“I think we were taking that a bit too far,” Makoto whispered.

Akira simply nodded.

Ryuji clapped his hands energetically. “Well… you two can do that later! Come on, we gotta get the hell outta here! Back from the dead!”

“Yes, please, at once!” Haru chimed in, equally energized. “I’ve been away from my vegetables for far too long!”

“By all means!” Yusuke agreed. “I must return to the Kosei dorms and attend to the caring of Sota and Sora!”

Ryuji gave Yusuke a weird look. “Who the hell are those guys?”

“They are the lobsters whom I previously purchased. Since I acquired them during our beach trip, they have served as my muse for many a masterpiece!”

“You seriously kept those lobsters, Inari?!” Futaba yelled incredulously. “You’ve got to be kidding!”

“I assure you it is no joke,” Yusuke insisted. “When we return at last, I shall demonstrate to you my immaculate renderings of their impeccable forms!”

“Never mind the lobsters!” Ann burst out. “I bet Mika’s been hogging all the glory for herself this whole time!”

“And we had a deal! Right, Akira?” Morgana added, leaping up onto the counter. “Since we’re not quite dead, it’s still on! We gotta go back and investigate Mementos!”

“And,” Sae said, smiling as she stepped into the cafe, as well, “someone needs to watch out for all of you. I’d never be able to live with myself if I failed to protect you again.”

“So what do you say, Leader?” Futaba asked excitedly. “You ready to go back and get our key items?”

The team all nodded eagerly at Akira, as he and Makoto indecisively and awkwardly considered the situation.

“Um…”

They all looked at him, anticipating a positive response.

“Not yet.”

Almost immediately, most everyone’s faces fell, and they all burst out in surprise and protest.

“Oh, come on!” Ryuji protested indignantly. “We got so much shit to do!”

“We’ll get there.” Akira tried his best to remain calm. He needed a day’s break from Phantom Thievery. “Just… not today. Not yet.”

Everyone looked disappointed…

But then, Futaba’s face suddenly lit up, and she began rummaging through her bag. “I have an idea!” She fished a video camera out of the bag. “Akira, I just remembered we have all of Tokyo to ourselves!”

The others looked at their smallest member dubiously.

“It’s not the real Tokyo,” Ann pointed out, “and it’s all weird and grey and red…”

“Whatever! It’s totally empty!” Futaba was practically bouncing with excitement. “Akira, I can go _anywhere_ in the city without getting scared! Let’s go do something fun! _Pleeeeeease?”_

“Sure, I guess,” Akira decided, standing up. “What do you have in mind?”

Futaba giggled. “You’ll see…”

* * *

**Ohya:** Sorry about last night, everyone.

**Shinya:** That was crazy! But exciting!

**Kawakami:** Don't worry about it, Ohya-san. I’m sorry your niece is so difficult.

**Chihaya:** I am only grateful that we were all able to escape.

**Hifumi:** I am glad as well. That could have very well been checkmate, had the school journalist not warned us.

**Takemi:** That’s true, she did possibly save us back there. Ohya-san, are you sure sending her away was the right idea?

**Ohya:** …

**Ohya:** It was for her own safety.

**Yoshida:** Did something notable occur in my absence?

**Shinya:** Nope!

**Mishima:** Uh… yeah?

**Takemi:** Where were you?

**Yoshida:** Shido’s new regulations put me in a bit of a tight spot regarding one of my upcoming speeches.

**Yoshida:** A rewrite was needed, so unfortunately, I had to pass.

**Mishima:** Oh man, that sucks!

**Yoshida:** Certainly it was unfortunate. Do all the kids say “suck” nowadays?

**Hifumi:** I would assume not all of them. I certainly don't.

**Kawakami:** Oh, I just remembered. Has anyone heard from Iwai-san?

* * *

**12/23/2016 ☀ FRiDAY Morning**

Iwai landed on his rear as the guard roughly tossed him into the cell. The interrogation had lasted nearly all night, and many blows had been dealt to his visage. He was certainly exhausted, but far more annoyed than fatigued.

“Yeah, nice knowing you too,” Iwai remarked sarcastically as the guard walked away down the hall of the police station to which Iwai had been transported.

Iwai sighed and relaxed against the wall, sighing in exasperation. Now, there was nothing to do but wait for—

“Oh, who’re you?”

Iwai turned his head in surprise to see who had spoken.

It was the prisoner in the neighboring holding cell— a middle-aged man with glasses and a modest goatee.

“I’m just a weapons dealer,” Iwai replied casually, as if he were recalling what he'd had for dinner.

“Weapons dealer?” The goateed man narrowed his eyes curiously. “Isn’t that illegal?”

“They’re fakes.”

“Oh, I see. So you sell toys.”

“No, they’re high-quality collector’s replicas.”

The goateed man didn’t seem to understand. “Riiiiiight.”

“Seems you don't know much about the collectible weapons business.”

“No, I suppose an old man like me wouldn’t know much about that.”

“Makes sense to me.” Iwai looked away from the man and quietly twiddled his thumbs upon the hard floor.

“So what do you do?”

“I own a coffee shop.”

“A coffee shop? Huh. Get a lot of shady characters there?”

“No, I can’t say I do. As a matter of fact,” the goateed man noted sadly, “I don’t get too many customers at all.”

“Bad reputation, huh?”

“Uh… it doesn’t really have a reputation at all.”

“Would I have heard of it?”

“I doubt it.”

“What’s it called?”

“Leblanc.”

“Huh, that name sounds familiar.” Iwai re-established eye contact with the other prisoner. “What’d you wind up in here for?”

Sojiro Sakura sighed. “Oh, you would never believe me if I told you.”

Iwai shrugged. “It’s not like I got an appointment. Try me.”

“All right.” He cleared his throat. “Let me explain…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story's almost done. I've got a very clear idea where all of this is going. And then I'll be moving onto the next segment of the series!
> 
> Also thinking about making minor edits and changing some of the color choices for timestamps in earlier chapters. I mean, it'd require a lot of typing, but I might do it.
> 
> See you all next time!


	24. Wake Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And [get out there](https://youtu.be/pbTt0iz-Wvc?t=1m7s)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Sorry this chapter took so long and all (though I'm sure no one really minds). More about this in the endnotes, and, well, if you don't wanna read those, you could just skip 'em.
> 
> I'm also looking for a beta reader to help me out with the chapters. Be nice to have someone who can, y'know, read and be a second opinion (besides Mac, whose forte is mostly technical assessment) for characterization, narrative cohesion, and all that jazz. So, I dunno if anyone will be interested but if anyone is? Just comment! And stuff.
> 
> Anyway, onto the shorter than usual chapter. I've been trying to tie together some stuff so. Yep.

**12/22/2016 ☀ THuRSDAY Evening**

“Get out.”

I looked to Kawakami-sensei, stunned that she would say such a thing. Why would she order this? Did she not want me to have the opportunity to drink her terrific coffee?

“But sensei— your coffee.”

It seemed that was the last thing she cared about.

“I may be devoted to supporting my students, but I won’t waste my efforts trying to help a student who doesn’t even help themselves. I can’t help you, Newspaper-chan. Get out of my home.”

I stood, still shaken with a mix of shock and anger at everything that everyone had said to me. Mishima. Auntie Ichiko. And now, Kawakami-sensei. They were all saying that I should care. And I hated them for it. I didn’t want to care. I had learned, all those years ago, that I ought not to care. My father hadn’t cared about me then. My mother didn’t care about me now. Why would I ever care about a world that never cared for me?

Yet, in that moment, I suddenly had another thought that went against everything I knew about myself:

_Maybe they’re right._

I froze. My face was still solidified, still bearing that furious, angry look. I dashed out of the apartment, and shut the door behind me— before my face had any chance to betray my true feelings.

Breathing hard, trying to forget my confusion, I heard Ichiko through the door.

_“She doesn’t like her name, either…”_

No, I didn’t. But perhaps I would need to.

I decided on a compromise.

If for no other reason than to get SPEEDS on my side, I would need to pretend to care.

That was the best I could do for myself, at least.

* * *

**12/23/2016 ☀ FRiDAY Daytime**  
**Days Until Television Special: 2**  
**Steal Shido's Heart**  
**「Stop broadcast」**  
**「Send calling card」**

_“WOO HOO!”_ Ryuji shouted, grinning wildly as he grinded down the side of the neatly white bridge, then jumped upwards, as if skateboarding, to reach towards the bright red sky. “THIS IS THE COOLEST SHIT EVER!”

Most of the other Phantom Thieves followed. Yusuke’s form went almost unchanged as he spun in perfect circles, one leg planted in the empty freeway while the other extended out straight away from himself. Ann, meanwhile, moved with her feet twirling about like a ballet dancer, and Akira came next, leaping energetically, not unlike Joker did, his coat twirling in the wind as he did so.

“Hey, look at me!” Morgana shouted. He was in his Metaverse form, gaining speed and sliding past the group to the front. “I can go fast too!”

“HEY!” Ryuji protested, “you can’t be in first place!”

“Whoever said this was a race?” Morgana retorted. “I’m just trying to be cool!”

Ryuji snatched Morgana out of the freeway, and begun to spin him around and around and around…

 _“HEY!”_ Morgana screamed, as he twirled helplessly. “PUT ME DOWN! I’m not to be toyed with! This is an outrage!”

“See ya!” Ryuji snapped flippantly as he threw Morgana into the air.

Morgana seemed to fly for miles, shouting and meowing angrily as he went. Futaba skated behind them all, filming all the action with her video camera.

Sae followed, clumsily trying to maintain her balance as she did so. “Will Morgana be alright?”

“Mona-chan will be just fine, Niijima-san!” Haru assured Sae confidently, sliding past and into the frame of Futaba’s camera, striking a stylish pose as she did so.

Sae smiled awkwardly at Haru. “No need for honorifics. You can just call me Sae.”

Makoto smiled at her sister.

* * *

“It’s so big,” Makoto marveled, looking about at Akira’s mostly monochrome Tokyo from where the Phantom Thieves now stood, looking outside of the deserted version of the Shibuya accessway. “Even in a dream, Tokyo is a thing to see…”

“It’s also a rather dominating aesthetic,” Yusuke noted as he quietly sketched it on a piece of paper. “Certainly a worthwhile spectacle, but this world’s Tokyo is quite… ominous. I feel as though these buildings are looming over us.”

“Yes,” Haru agreed, “their dim colors are rather menacing.”

“But we’ve been jumpin’ all over them!” Ryuji pointed out enthusiastically. “It was just like a Palace!”

“Like a Palace…” Makoto wondered.

“Yeah… that’d make sense!” Akira agreed, suddenly becoming thoughtful. “Someone told me, the dream world is like… well… there’s the dream world, and then there’s the Metaverse. And there’s a place between the two of them… and that’s how we escaped! So it’s like… a slightly more realistic Palace!” He nodded eagerly, as he put all the pieces together. “It’s like how I said to Akechi! The reason Leblanc is my dream world, is because—”

“Because it would be your Palace,” Morgana surmised. “If you had a Palace, this would be it! Tokyo! And Leblanc would be your Treasure Room!”

Everyone looked at Morgana strangely.

“I don’t believe I follow,” Yusuke noted, looking quite puzzled.

“Yeah, what the hell are you talking about?!” Ryuji asked. “Dreams? You’d have a Palace?! I don’t get it at all!”

“No, no,” Makoto clarified, “it’s only hypothetical. What Morgana is saying is that Palaces are people’s dreams…”

“People’s dreams gone crazy?” Ann reasoned. “I see, so it’s like—”

“It’s like a dream turned to a nightmare for all except the dreamer,” Yusuke surmised. “I see now. So this place is… what Akira dreams the world to be.”

“But why this?” Haru wondered. “Why would it be gray and red, and have no people? Wouldn’t his dream be more like…”

“Not all dreams are based off ideals,” Sae pointed out, looking firmly forward. “Some of them… are our own twisted realities.”

At this, everyone was quiet.

Akira pondered these words in silence, wondering what this world might become, were it a Palace.

A whole city, with no one here for him. No one— except his friends.

It would not be very much different from Shido’s own world— a world where there was no one whose voices could be heard, except for Shido’s.

But Akira quickly put this out of his mind. It was not a thought worth considering. Not a world he wanted.

This world was best left as it was.

“Let’s go,” Akira said, his mind set. “We’ve got to take out Shido.”

The team looked surprised at his sudden statement of determination.

“But— wait!” Ann said, confused. “Akira, didn’t you say—”

“I know what I said. I changed my mind.” Akira stood up straight, looking out of the accessway window into his world. “I’m ready. It’s about time we end his nightmare.”

The Phantom Thieves all stood for a moment, processing his words—

Then, they all smiled firmly.

“I’ve been waitin’ for you to say that, Leader!” Ryuji said, pumping his fist and placing his elbow on Akira’s shoulder. “Let’s get the hell outta here!”

“Yes,” Haru said, rising gracefully. “It’s time to avenge my father!”

“And Mom!” Futaba added. “I’ve been waiting for this for two years!”

“Yeah,” Makoto said. “And…” She turned to her big sister.

Sae was simply observing, seeming uncertain of herself.

Makoto smiled, faithfully.

After a moment, Sae smiled back.  
“Yes,” Sae agreed. “I’m ready. Let’s go at once.”

“It’s settled then!” Mona said, grinning as he leaped onto Akira’s shoulder, turning himself back to a normal cat. “Time to go pull off the Phantom Thieves’ greatest feat yet— cheating death!”

The thieves all nodded, and turned, walking down the bridge as Akira pulled out his phone and touched the button.

And then they were back.

The team looked around at the throngs of people all surrounding them in the real-world Shibuya accessway. Morgana, still on Akira’s shoulder, contentedly licked his paw in an effort to look normal

“Oh,” Sae noted curiously, “we’re back in Shibuya.”

“Wait.” Ryuji looked confused. “It’s that easy?”

“Apparently so,” Yusuke noted. “Quite underwhelming. Not much different from leaving a Palace. I was expecting something more riveting.”

_You have returned from the dream world. Welcome back._

Akira closed the Metaverse Navigator and pocketed his phone. “Doesn’t matter much. We’re back now, so we should try to get out of here before someone recognizes us.”

“That’s right,” Makoto reasoned. “If Shido’s statement is to be taken seriously, he may have people monitoring the city. We’d best make sure we’re seen by no one!”

Trying not to draw suspicion by talking, Morgana only mewed in agreement.

Keeping their heads down, the Phantom Thieves all rushed forth and merged into the crowds.

Not a single commuter batted an eye.

* * *

“So, this is where we’re going?” Sae looked slightly uneasy. “Your sensei’s apartment?”

Akira nodded. “Yup.”

“How did you get your sensei to—”

“It’s a long story,” Akira said simply, as he knocked on the door. “Best saved for another time.”

There was a moment as rough shuffling on the other side was heard, and Kawakami opened the door. When she saw who it was, her eyes widened in a mix of disbelief and delight.

“Kurusu-kun… A-Akira! You’re… So Mishima was… Oh my god, I can’t believe it’s really you! Please don’t scare me like that again!” She knelt down and gave him a huge hug.

“Whoa,” Akira groaned. “Too tight there.”

“Hey!” Ryuji cheered. “It’s you! The Fishing Master Captain Kawakami!”

Kawakami shook her head. “What are you talking about, Sakamoto-kun? I’ve never been fishing in my life.”

“That’s bullshit! You—”

“So, um, sensei,” Ann interrupted, hastily, “you _do_ have space here for us to hide? At least until we can steal Shido’s heart.”

“I-I suppose— If you all sleep on the floor.” Kawakami nervously stepped aside and motioned for them to come in. “But— Kurusu-kun!” She glared at him strictly. “You need to explain yourself!”

Akira nodded meekly in response.

* * *

**12/23/2016 ☀ FRiDAY Evening**

Kawakami only looked even more and more confused as the team finished explaining the situation.

“So you died, hatched a plan to stop Shido while you were dead, came back from the dead, and now you need to stay here while you prepare to hack a nationwide television broadcast?”

“In a nutshell,” Akira agreed, nodding.

“I know it’s difficult to understand,” Sae said sympathetically. “But I found that it made sense enough to me in time.”

“You have a real tiny place!” Ryuji noted, as he gazed about the apartment, concerned. “How are we all gonna fit?”

“I may have to move some furniture,” Kawakami supposed.

“I can help with it!” Haru said cheerfully. “Oh, and, sensei, would you be willing to taste some of my cooking? I never got to ask Sakura-san to do it.”

“I would love to, Okumura-san,” Kawakami replied, eagerly nodding. “I have some vegetables in the fridge you can use.”

Haru smiled and nodded pleasantly, and headed to the kitchen to oblige their host. But Kawakami stopped her. “Not right now. I have something important I need to say first.”

She took a seat on one of the taller chairs in her small apartment, and took on a very serious look.

“I hope you all realize the danger I’m placing myself in for your sake,” she told them, gravely. “This is anything but a joke.”

The group nodded in silent acknowledgement.

“We know,” Makoto assured her, with bold confidence in her voice. “Everything will be okay. We promise.”

“Make sure you don’t get caught, and don’t lose,” Kawakami insisted. “We have all come too far for you to fail now.”

“Yeah!” Ryuji grinned. “Anything for the Fishing Master Captain!”

“There won’t be a problem!” Futaba said excitedly.

“Not in the slightest,” Haru agreed. “We’ll put an end to this!”

Yusuke smiled and nodded. “I swear that I shall not be an inconvenience.”

Ann nodded as well. “It’s going to be completely fine.”

“We’re gonna win,” Akira said with a bold Joker grin. “We won’t disappoint you. We’ll stop Shido.”

There was a second of silence, as Kawakami seemed to be assessing their confidence.

“Don’t worry about it,” Sae assured Kawakami pleasantly. “They’re some of the most resilient children I’ve ever had the privilege of guarding. They’ll be okay.”

“Okay,” she decided, “I believe you. All of you, feel free to use the kitchen. I brought the coffee beans from Leblanc.”

“What about you?” Akira asked. “Don’t you want some coffee?”

“No, I’m quite alright,” Kawakami said, laughing a little. “I think I’ll just go to bed early. There’s been quite a lot to take in.” She stood and bowed gently at all of them. “Good luck, all of you.”

Kawakami disappeared into her room, and thus, the Phantom Thieves were now alone.

“So, Futaba-chan,” Haru inquired, “do you have preparations set for our calling card?”

Futaba nodded eagerly, pulling out her laptop. “Yep yep! It’s just like I thought— hacking the SSN was easy-peasy! While I was mapping their system, I found a cut of that TV special, too!”

"Shall we watch it?" Haru asked. "I'm rather curious about what it says."

"I'm almost scared to watch it," Ann remarked.

"Man, it's gonna be such crap,” Ryuji groaned. “I dunno if I can watch it without getting pissed as hell."

"I'll try to look past the content to an extent and appreciate the style and edits made," Yusuke said hopefully. "Perhaps it may not be garbage in terms of visuals."

"Focusing on style is always a good idea," Morgana agreed. "But, anyway, it seems we're mostly in agreement. Play it, Futaba!"

Futaba tapped the spacebar.

_"The Phantom Thieves… criminals… murderers… AND, teenagers! WATCH, as we uncover the truth behind these tortured souls… their true lives!"_ After this line, it began showing a series of photos of the team. _Akira Kurusu…Ryuji Sakamoto… Ann Takamaki… Makoto Niijima… Yusuke Kitagawa… Futaba Sakura… Haru Okumura…"_

"They chose the wrong picture," Yusuke muttered, "I would have preferred a more up-to-date one befitting of my current polish."

_"These are the Phantom Thieves. Who were these troubled teenagers? Why did they turn to the dark side? Follow along tonight as we tell you their story…"_

Akira stared at Futaba’s laptop screen with curious skepticism. “Let’s see what they got for us.”

_“The mastermind behind these crimes, Akira Kurusu, was sent packing after he assaulted an innocent man one night in his small hometown. He was placed upon probation and sent to Tokyo to live with Sakura Sojiro, the owner of a local coffee shop known ominously as ‘Leblanc.’”_

Akira was not bothered too much by what the special was saying about him. He supposed it was because he had been so used to all the rumors flying around about him at Shujin.

“‘Ominously?’” Haru gaped. “My, what nonsense.”

“Preposterous hyperbole,” Yusuke agreed.

_“Upon capture, he stole a gun while in custody, murdered a guard under unknown circumstances, and shot himself dead. Though his motives are unknown, he was reportedly an effective con man - surprising though it may be to some, especially considering his age - and successfully convinced many other unwitting individuals to join his cause.”_

“A con man? Murdered a guard?” Makoto was shocked by the lies on the screen.

_“It is highly suspected that…”_

“Why are they even airing this?!” Ann shouted in disbelief as the announcer went on and on about Akira and the horrible things he never did. “We’re already ‘dead.’ Is there any point?!”

“Just like I thought— total bullshit!” Ryuji shouted.

“Hang on,” Akira said, “they’re talking about you, Ryuji.”

_“Kurusu’s right-hand man in this criminal enterprise, Ryuji Sakamoto, was a delinquent and former school track star. Sakamoto was kicked off the Shujin Academy track team after he was disciplined by and thereafter launched an unprovoked assault on an innocent staff member.”_

“What?!” Ryuji gaped in angered surprise. “Are they talking about Kamoshida? _INNOCENT?!”_

_“Ann Takamaki, a teenage model, was recruited into the group for rather petty reasons - she was jealous of another student who possessed a superior body shape. Surely this was a great blow to her ego, which contributed greatly to her motivations in joining the Phantom Thieves.”_

“This is ridiculous!” Ann shouted. “I wasn’t jealous of anybody!”

_“The three of them somehow forced a ‘change of heart’ on Kamoshida Seguru, the school’s star gym teacher. Assault and blackmail were strongly suspected by the police. To this day, we have no idea how it was achieved…”_

An unfamiliar boy in a Shujin uniform appeared on screen. _“Yeah, everyone was afraid of the Phantom Thieves. Kamoshida-sensei was presumably attacked, somehow. He was just a poor, helpess gym teacher. We were all afraid of what they would do next. Thank God they’re gone!”_

“I ain’t never seen that guy at Shujin before!” shouted Ryuji.

“Nor have,” Makoto said, staring at the screen suspiciously. “He must be an actor.”

The special went on and on and on…

_“Yusuke Kitagawa, who threw away a shot at life as a famous artist from the formerly glorious painter Ichiryusai Madarame. He died at a coffee shop under mysterious circumstances, and was later reported to have been painting twisted creations— almost certainly reflective of his disturbed criminal mind…”_

“My criminal mind?” Yusuke laughed dryly. “My mind is many things… but disturbed? Truly an absurd thought.”

_“Haru Okumura, the disturbed daughter of Kunikazu Okumura, who, to acquire her father’s inheritance, assisted the Phantom Thieves in pulling off his murder. Her profound greed and desire to control the company were her primary driving desires in this horrid act.”_

“My… my father’s inheritance…” Haru squeaked, “No… no! I wanted anything but that! How can they say such things?!”

_“Futaba Sakura, a hikikomori girl whose mother had a terrible case maternity neurosis, causing the disturbed child to withdraw from society and plot revenge against the innocent men she deemed responsible. Her motives for joining the Phantom Thieves were primarily…”_

“That’s ridiculous!” Futaba shouted incredulously. “I was never ‘plotting’ anything! Those nasty rotten adults—”

“Ssh,” Morgana whispered.

Futaba gritted her teeth and kept watching…

_“Makoto Niijima, formerly a student council president, expelled from Shujin upon discovery of being a Phantom Thief, deranged and troubled, murdered her sister, prosecutor Sae Niijima. Both Niijimas died in the ensuing struggle as the victim attempted to defend herself. Their toxic sibling rivalry surely led to this deadly confrontation, as well as her joining the Phantom Thieves— culminating in their arrest when they attempted to target the elder Niijima.”_

“I… that can’t be…” Makoto gasped. “Killed… Sis?!”

“What a cruel thing to have the world believe,” Sae said in disgust.

_“These are the Phantom Thieves. These are their stories. Let us never forget the chaos they plunged this country into, and preserve our safety, now that they are all dead. Praise to Masayoshi Shido-sama, our Prime Minister, who kindly endorsed this program and provided production funding.”_

A long and dull credits sequence with a disinteresting song began to play.

“That… those lies… that is unforgivable!” Ann screamed furiously. “How could anyone not see that this isn’t true?! It’s all just to make Shido out to be so great!”

“What the hell?!” Ryuji yelled. “‘Their stories,’ my ass! They’re painting us as a bunch of bad guys and crazy people!”

“That was poorly written, edited and shot,” Yusuke said, seeming disappointed, “on top of being ridiculously biased and factually incorrect. I can’t believe anyone would allow this slander to be taken as reality.”

“We can’t let this further smear the name of the Phantom Thieves!” Morgana said with determination.

“It’ll be fine!” Futaba assured them all, typing away energetically. “We’re gonna delete it, and they won’t know what hit ‘em!"

“All right.” Akira grinned, looking over her shoulder. “Futaba, how long do you think the calling card will take?”

“Shouldn’t take long at all!” Futaba assured him. “I just need to work on the editing and the animations, and we need to go to the entrance of Mementos to record a—”

“Okay. What about the music?”

Futaba looked away from her laptop, turning to look at Akira curiously.

“Music?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone. So, here's a bunch of notes for you today. I feel like explaining some shit.
> 
> First of all, I feel rather fatigued at the moment, having put so much time into writing this. After I finish chapter 27 and complete this arc, I think I'll be taking a break while I decide what exactly I want to do with the Newspaper-chan arc, work up a base to build off, rethink my priorities, and just watch some anime and shit. I also need to do not really related things to this-- try and sharpen my Spanish, improve my sleep schedule, go apartment hunting, blablabla... And when I go to Tokyo early next month, I intend to step away from fanfiction completely for that one week and just enjoy myself. I ain't gonna be in Tokyo forever, after all!
> 
> Chapter 27 is already partly written, and I know roughly almost exactly what will happen in chapters 25 and 26. They won't be coming too soon, but I promise they will be around within... the next two weeks or so. Of course, this can all change, depending on what all happens, how my motivation will change, how much I write on the plane ride to/from Mexico and Tokyo and maybe during the layovers etc. I'll do some spot-the-location-from-P5 touring and all that jazz. Maybe I'll even share a few photos with you guys! :)
> 
> Now, about Newspaper-chan:
> 
> When I originally formed her character, her goals were vastly different from how they are now. She was initially noble and truth-seeking, desiring to discover the truth of how the Phantom Thieves were killed and tell Shujin what had happened, in spite of resistance from the also-then-different Misako (who used to be a huge bitchy stuck-up bitch, before becoming the conflicted stalker girl I introduced in Dishonor and Drowning) and the school staff, who forbade News-chan from writing about the thieves at all.
> 
> However, I decided that giving her this "noble idealist aspiring journalist" archetype was a predictable and lazy direction to take with her. Few reasons to this. Most journalists in fiction are of this sort, and furthermore, the P3, P4, and P5 protagonists are all ones to similarly hold themselves to and defend such lofty ideals. "Face death! Find the truth! Reform society!" etc etc. I decided it would be much more interesting to give my version of the character far less noble motives, and an anti-hero attitude that makes her a strong point of contrast to the thieves (and Persona protagonists in general).
> 
> But I realized over time that this characterization led to the problem of her being not a sympathetic character. The fact that I've shrouded the reasons for her being this way in mystery thus far makes her rather difficult to redeem. I _could_ go back and rewrite her earlier scenes... But I don't want to. I don't like the idea of continuing to change my story again, after already having rewritten 100,000+ words once. Rewriting those many words has been a truly grueling task, and I cannot wait to move beyond this and tell the story still yet to be told. Plus, I don't think you want to read it all over again! So I am not going to do that.
> 
> Instead, I intend to take my best shot at working my way out of the creative hole I have dug the character into. That's the best thing I can do for her at this point in time. I hope you're all okay with that. If any of you have any criticism of News-chan, or suggestions for how to take her character in a good direction, I would love to hear them.
> 
> Sorry the notes were so long today, and thanks to all of you for continuing to read this very complicated story. I'll see you in the next chapter.


	25. The Fakers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Are all sick at heart...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to have chapters 25-27 done all at once and get them all out within like, a day of one another.
> 
> That ain't happening, but, I do have lots of chapter 26 done.
> 
> Thanks to fellow AO3 writer and Crimson Compendium contributor [Circuit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Circuit/pseuds/Circuit) for helping with the beta reading of this chapter. Her ongoing story Queen of Hearts (plus her fics in general) is damn good and you should probably check it all out. (also I still need beta readers.)

**12/25/2016 ❅ FRiDAY Evening**

Mishima sighed at the missing poster for Akira that he had left hanging up in Shibuya Square.

Someone had drawn a mustache on it.

He tore it down, and put up another new and clean missing poster in its place. “There.”

It had been a few days since his dream. He knew they were supposed to broadcast the calling card today, but he was a little bit anxious at the possibility that everyone else in SPEEDS was right. That his dream may have been only a simple dream.

Hopefully, that was not to be true. He nervously tapped his watch.

Almost time for the television special to begin airing. And for the Phantom Thieves to intercept it.

_Three… Two… One…_

_“That concludes today’s national news,”_ the reporter on the enormous screen above said simply, in a tired, flat tone. _“Next up on SSN is the new television special on the Phantom Thieves, sponsored by Prime Minister Masayoshi Shido-sama. Praise to Shido-sama…”_

The reporter walked offscreen, looking absolutely, completely, and totally bored out of his mind.

The screen then flickered to a blank red background, which slowly began to turn black.

_"The Phantom Thieves… criminals… murderers… AND, teenagers!”_

Mishima watched nervously…

_“WATCH, as we uncover the truth behind these tortured souls…”_

He turned away from the screen, sighing. “Guess it was only a dream after all.”

_“their true lives! Ak—”_

The announcer suddenly stopped talking, and several voices of confusion erupted from the square. Mishima, however, did not turn around, and only kept on walking dejectedly through the thin snow coating the ground, towards Shibuya Station.

It was time for him to go home.

But as he was leaving, there was a small fuzz of static…

_Wait… what?!_

He turned around— and much to his surprise, the bland colors previously on the screen had been replaced by a bright red hat.

And not just any hat.

#  ** TAKe YOuR hEaRT **

_ “YO! What is UP, EVERYBODY!” _ shouted an enthusiastic, excited voice that Mishima recognized as belonging to Ryuji Sakamoto. Three simple notes rang from the screen’s speakers, and a stylish, jazzy song began to play.

_ “We are the ones you all know as the Phantom Thieves.” _

_ “And all of us are ALIVE AND KICKIN’!” _

“Holy shit…” Mishima gasped. He did his best to keep a straight face, as he reached for his phone.

 _THEY DID IT!_ He thought, ecstatically. _They really did it!_

* * *

Ohya was sitting in Crossroads, quietly having another drink. Thankfully there was no one else in the bar, except for Lala. After everything that had happened with the Phantom Thieves, Pumpkin, and SPEEDS, she really needed some time to herself.

“So, are you going home soon?” Lala Escargot asked, as she quietly washed Ohya’s previously used glasses. “I need to close up.”

“What kind of bar closes at seven in the evening?” Ohya asked, slightly annoyed. “You’ll lose business that way, Lala-chan.”

“I’ll tell you what kind of bar closes at seven,” Lala responded gruffly as she neatly lined up Ohya’s glasses on the shelf. “The kind that only has one customer in it right now, who has well overstayed her welcome, and has ordered way more drinks than she can pay for.”

“I can pay for them, Lala!” Ohya insisted. “I have—”

“A tab spanning a month and a half of overdue payments for drinks, yes,” Lala reminded her.

“I thought those drinks were freeeeee!!!”

“Free for a time, if only because I have a kind heart, Ichiko.” Lala pointed to the door. “I’m sorry, but I have to clean up. Please leave.”

Ohya whined like a small child as she stood up, admitting defeat. “Fine!”

As Ohya approached the door, her phone suddenly buzzed. She took it out, and curiously took a look at the text message she had received.

**Mishima:** EVERYONE! Turn on a TV if you’re near one! They’re back… I WAS RIGHT!!! The dream was true!

Ohya stopped dead in her tracks. _The dream was true? Could it be…?!_

She spun around abruptly. “Lala-chan!”

Lala looked up from the counter she was cleaning with an annoyed, bemused look. “What is it?”

“Turn on the TV!”

“If you say so…” Lala picked up the remote and switched it on.

An animated, mischievously smiling catlike creature appeared onscreen, spinning round and round as a youthful male voice spoke enthusiastically:

_ “— those shitty guys in power? They’ve been manipulating information to try and hide the truth!”_

“What’s this?” Lala wondered, curiously putting down both the remote and her cleaning cloth.

Ohya gaped in disbelief, as the jazz song running underneath their voices began to pick up, and English lyrics broke into the equation…

**_who am I?_**  
**_am I, not unique?_ **  
**_maybe I'm not_ **  
**_here at all..._ **

_“So, before we appropriate our next target,”_ a girl’s voice said cheerily, _ “We would like to first borrow your time!”_

A deeply masculine and falsely dignified voice continued: _“The truth of the matter, is that we did not perish in accidents, nor succumb to suicide. We were murdered, as part of a convoluted and preposterous assassination plot— by the very same man responsible for the many incidents of mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns!”_

 _“But, we are Phantom Thieves— Masters of trickery and spectacle.”_ another female voice, with ladylike mannerisms, cheerfully stated. _“I promise you, we are not to be killed so easily!”_

**_oh, it's USELESS…_ **  
**_what could it MEAN that we're here?_ **

“Huh,” Lala mused, “I knew those kids had to be clever…”

“I… I can’t believe it!” Ohya gasped softly. “Guess I’d better get cracking on that cover story…”

* * *

Tae Takemi looked curiously at the small LCD TV on her office desk. The cat creature bounced again, and its tail began to shorten, as if a fuse. It quickly gave way to a single, stylishly rendered word:

** < ** ** < ** ** < ** ** BANG! ** ** > ** ** > ** ** > **

Many duplicates of the cat creature quickly populated the screen. Then, it merged back into one, its cartoon like smile as big as ever.

“Interesting,” she mused, as she neatly procured a small syringe from her drawer. “I guess my prescription worked after all.” Takemi grinned wickedly. “Well, when my guinea pig gets back… I’ll have to do my first undead examination.”

* * *

“Whoa,” Shinya gasped at the screen. The Gun About machine had stopped working, and was now, somehow, displaying the Phantom Thieves’ message.

A lot of the other gamers in the arcade were annoyed that the games had stopped working, and normally Shinya would have been too. But— He actually preferred this to Gun About! This was awesome!

“I guess I was wrong, eh?” He smiled excitedly, and confidently straightened his GET SMOKED cap. “This wasn’t a Game Over after all!”

* * *

Chihaya looked up, and instantly saw what Mishima was referring to in his text message. Someone on the other side of the busy Shinjuku street had been trying to sell an old TV, and was now kicking it, confused at what the hell had gone wrong with it.

The young fortune teller immediately rushed to the other side of the street, and bent down to look at the image onscreen. “So… it’s true! The cards weren’t lying!”

* * *

Hifumi had been playing against herself for a good many hours now, but those hours had abruptly come to an end when she received Mishima’s text. And now, watching the Phantom Thieves’ broadcast on her phone, she cheered, crying and laughing with joyful relief.

Everyone in the church was looking at her, and she was aware of it— but she just couldn’t help herself. It would be impossible now, to contain her excitement.

“Akira… you did it… you cheated!”

* * *

**12/25/2016 ❅ FRiDAY Evening**

“Ha!” Futaba smiled, reflecting the perpetual grin of the Alibaba logo on screen. “All according to plan!” She tapped speedily at the keyboard, canceling out the oncoming efforts by the TV stations to take back control, as if playing a simple game of Space Invaders.

“Hey,” Morgana asked, “why didn’t I get any lines again?”

“They wouldn’t be able to hear you,” Futaba reminded him, as she kept on typing, intently focused on her task.

“I must say,” Yusuke noted, “that was a clever way to repurpose that footage you recorded.”

“Good job, Futaba,” Akira said cooly, patting her on the back, as the rest of the Phantom Thieves watched.

Kawakami couldn’t help grinning as well. She was exceptionally proud of her students.

* * *

**_Meanwhile, in Shibuya…_ **

_“What’s this?”_

_“Was that a girl?”_

_“What a cheap prank!”_

**_can we make a difference…?_ **

_“That man,”_ Queen continued, _“was afraid his crimes would be exposed, and shifted the blame on us— before orchestrating our assassination. He even manipulated the police and the media for that!”_

**_if we don't BREAK OUTTA HERE?_ **

_“We only steal the hearts of criminals. But this asshole tried to dump what HE did on US— AND THAT JUST SHOWS HE DON’T CARE ABOUT THOSE VICTIMS AT ALL!!!”_ shouted Skull, as the video changed from the Alibaba logo to show footage of Skull, in costume, leaping and bounding across a bridge through the red sky.

**_WAKE UP, GET UP, GET OUT THERE!_ **  
**_RAISE YOUR VOICE AGAINST LIARS_ **

_“And the identity of this deplorable, cowardly man is—”_ Ace began, her voice charged with fury, before the broadcast was cut out.

 _“WHAT THE HELL?!”_ shouted some random overzealous dude with a megaphone. “It was gettin’ good!”

* * *

“I was worried this might happen,” Sae said regretfully.

“Did something go wrong?” Kawakami asked, concerned.

“The police reacted much faster than I thought,” Futaba mused, typing away a response.

“Futaba-chan,” Haru asked, “is it okay? Can you fix it?”

The thieves all looked worried.

“Futaba,” Makoto asked. “You can get it working again, right?”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Akira asserted confidently.

* * *

**12/25/2016 ❅ FRiDAY Evening**

“Hey!” A guard shouted, walking over to Sojiro and Iwai’s cell. “Sakura! What the hell’d you do?”

“Who, me?” Sojiro asked, looking up curiously. “I haven’t done anything.” He turned to Iwai. “Did you do something?”

“Nah,” Iwai said casually. “I’ve just been sitting on my ass all day starin’ at the wall.” He looked up to the guard. “What’s the problem?”

“Where are you hiding the Phantom Thieves?!”

“I’m not hiding anything,” Sojiro insisted. “I told you people a dozen times, if you want proof, all you gotta do is tear your way through my store. Don’t you have a warrant for all that stuff?”

“I highly doubt these guys got much of a warrant for anything,” said an unfamiliar voice. “But I have a warrant for something else.”

Iwai stood and turned to see who it was.

“Oh— Hiroki!”

“Iwai-kun. So ya got yourself in trouble again, I see,” Hiroki mused, as he strolled into view. He was a tall, buff man with immaculately polished hair, sunglasses, and a neat suit. He turned to the guard. “These guys are with me. You can let ‘em out now.”

The guard stared at the uninvited guest apprehensively. “Just who the hell are you?!”

“Glad you asked.” Hiroki fished in his suit pocket for a second, pulling out a small piece of paper. “This should answer all your questions.”

The guard roughly snatched the piece of paper away and began examining it. As he did so, his face turned from annoyed to fearfully surprised.

“What— you’re—!!”

“Yup, the very same,” Hiroki said simply, his face straight as always. “And that guy’s a mutual friend, and it seems that other guy’s a mutual friend of his as well… so, if you’d be so polite to release them.” He bowed and gestured towards the cell, with a rather gentlemanly air about himself.

The guard handed back the paper, took the key off his belt and immediately obliged Hiroki’s demands without any further objection.

Sojiro and Iwai stood and gratefully exited the cell.

“So, uh…” Sojiro shrugged awkwardly. “Thanks. Who are you exactly?”

“I’m a cleaner,” Hiroki answered, pocketing the paper.

“Oh, so you— Wait, what?!” Sojiro adjusted his glasses, as if to make sure they were working correctly. _“That_ kind of cleaner?”

Hiroki nodded. “Iwai-kun here sure knows how to use his one phone call.”

Iwai bowed at Hiroki politely. “Thanks a lot.”

Hiroki shrugged. “Not a problem. So… you guys are Phantom Thief supporters, huh?”

“I suppose you could say that,” Sojiro replied. “Though, I’m sure some supporter if I let this happen to me.”

Iwai looked a little uncertain. “Well, apparently the leader got himself in more trouble than he could bite off… so I’m not too sure where I stand on that.”

Hiroki looked amused by their responses. “Guess you wouldn’t have heard the news here.”

The both of them looked up in surprise.

“What news?”

“You’ll see soon enough,” Hiroki noted, chuckling as he left. “Y’know, if I didn’t know better, I’d say I got one of them ‘changes of heart’ too…”

Iwai and Sojiro looked confused.

“So…” Sojiro broke the silence. “I guess we should find these… uh, SPEEDS— people you mentioned?”

“Probably,” Iwai agreed, nodding in earnest. “But I think I wanna find out what the hell’s going on first.”

* * *

It had been hardly half a minute. Futaba was tapping away at the keyboard, deleting and rewriting lines of code as she chuckled with excitement…

“Is it working?” Makoto asked.

“Amateurs!” Alibaba laughed, still grinning like a crazy person as she held her finger above the keyboard. “Too bad… _I WIN!”_

And then she pushed the button.

* * *

**_the fakers_ **  
**_are all, sick at HEART_ **

_“The man behind it is a former cabinet member, of all things,”_ Ace continued. _“The recently elected Prime Minister of this country—_ **_Masayoshi Shido!”_ **

The crowds below gasped, as the image cut away from the costumed thieves leaping through the grayscale Tokyo to an image of Shido’s face.

_“WHAT?!”_

_“Shido-sama!”_

_“That can’t possibly—”_

_“But what if it is?!”_

**_who is that HIGH LORD_ **

_“This man is a fraud!”_ Fox declared. _“He only won the election under bogus conditions, through purely dishonest means!”_

**_WHO’D KILL A MILLION OF US?_ **

_“And HE’S FULL OF SHIT!!!”_ Skull yelled furiously.

 _“To prove that—”_ Panther continued,

And then, the screens lit up with all nine Phantom Thieves, shrouded in a bright shadow cast by the terrific light behind them.

_“LOOK! As you can see, all of us are alive and kicking!”_

_“Soon,”_ Noir said, _“We shall complete our spectacular plan to steal away Shido’s heart, and you shall all see it is true that we have escaped death, and outsmarted his villainy!”_

The picture of Shido once again appeared onscreen— But this time, it had been defaced, now featuring Alibaba mischievously biting his head, and adorned with a cheeky insult.

**_and as the bell TOLLS_**  
_**IS THERE NO REMISSION FOR US?!**_

_“We are not gonna sit back and watch some crook wreck this country just ‘cause of his goddamn ego!”_ Skull yelled, as the picture shrank to reveal him and Joker standing next to each other, and he threw it offscreen. _“Ain’t that right— leader?”_

**_WAKE UP, GET UP, GET OUT THERE!_ **

Joker stepped forward, his white mask filling the camera as he glared at the audience.

**_RAISE YOUR VOICE AGAINST LIARS_ **

_“Yes. Before that happens, we shall take this country!”_

**_FEED YOUR ANGER LIKE FIRE_ **  
**_IF YOU HOLD ON,_ **  
**_LIFE WON’T CHANGE!_ **

The video froze for a solid second, as the last three notes rang out with the lyrics—

And then with a deliberate, mischievous _whirrrr,_ almost as if taunting Shido and the entirety of Tokyo— the broadcast was ended.

* * *

Mishima sat, discreetly viewing the screens from behind a neglected and overfilled trash can, his face giddy with delight. “Yes! YES! **_YES!!”_ ** He did his best to keep his voice down, but the euphoria was difficult to contain. Noticing several people migrating away from the square in his direction, he hastily covered his face and fled the scene.

As he did so, his phone buzzed, signaling a notification.

It was from the Phan-site.

The Phan-site! But hadn’t it been—

**Anonymous:** Don’t thank me, kid. Courtesy of your friendly neighborhood Alibaba!

…deleted…?!

No… it was really back! Alibaba—

Akira had said before, when the Phan-site disappeared the first time, that it was Alibaba— the same Alibaba?! Mishima could only assume that had to be the case— but just _who_ was Alibaba?

Pocketing his phone, he decided it wasn’t too important. The Phan-site was back up, and that was awesome— so therefore, Alibaba had to be someone awesome! And that was all there was to it.

His excitement only exponentially inflated, Mishima energetically rushed into Shibuya station, trying his best to not stand out.

* * *

Yoshida had been sitting quietly in his office, busily writing all references to the Phantom Thieves of Hearts out of his speeches— until this had happened.

“Shido…” he murmured with a sigh. “To think that a man entrusted with such a great position would be responsible for such things. It’s a shame that so many men would abuse their power. In any case…” He turned to the many papers on his desk, and made a soft smile.

“I suppose this won’t be necessary any longer.”

* * *

“So Shido truly is a bad man,” Chihaya breathed, with a sense of nervous awe. “And… they’re going to… My goodness.”

The middle-aged man who had been trying to sell the TV at the curb looked pissed. “Lady, you’ve been sitting here staring at this TV for a while. You’re getting in the way of my sale! You wanna buy this thing or not?!”

Chihaya stood up gracefully, her face flushed with embarrassment. “Oh! I’m sorry… yes, I think I’ll buy this!” She wouldn’t have normally been interested in buying a TV, but she felt it was only right considering that she had seemed to cause the man trouble. “How much is it?”

“Well, since it’s freaking out so much, I’ll just give it to ya for free!” The man sighed as he adjusted his glasses. “This goddamn flashin’ is just too much for my eyes! Shoulda put on a goddamn epileptic warning…” He walked away, grumbling grouchily and abandoning the TV.

Chihaya ignored him, rejoicing in her happy relief at the news.

“Akira— you did it! Now go… and change your fate!”

* * *

**12/25/2016 ❅ FRiDAY Evening**

Misako Dekishi’s lips were pursed, her body tense— as if one push would break her in two, like a rotting board of wood. She gently extended her hand towards the TV screen.

“Niijima-senpai…” Her voice was charged with a sense of muted emotion. “Is it you? Is it really… you?”

Misako hadn’t gotten close to Makoto Niijima for a great many weeks— something she had been yearning for ever since her arrest. It had been difficult to deal with Makoto’s continued obliviousness, but she’d found solace in the fact that her position as student council vice president allowed her to get close to Niijima-senpai at school every day. Even if Makoto was blind to Misako’s love, she’d always derive as much pleasure as she could—

 _Why could I never just tell her the truth?!_ Misako wondered, furiously. _After more than a year… I just couldn’t do anything! I just… because… because what if she…_

Not only were romantic relationships not permitted among Shujin Academy students, but Misako’s choice of lover would certainly warrant a great amount of further stigma— and possibly expulsion. She was relieved that the gym teacher Kamoshida— the only one who had known her secret —was long gone, but…

_But if Niijima-senpai really hates me, I could get more than just rejected! But… But…_

Who’d been that other boy next to her? Did he go to Shujin too? Was he… was he… could he possibly be… no! No, that couldn’t be! Niijima-senpai would never—

Or was it one of the other boys? Or one of those girls? There had been… three boys, three girls, and one significantly older woman who could probably be safely ruled out as competition. Well…

Misako gritted her teeth furiously at the now blank television. “I’ll just have to make sure she’s… she’s not…”

* * *

**12/25/2016 ❅ FRiDAY Evening**

“Hmm…”

As Akira Kurusu made his bold declaration of war on society, I stared at the computer screen with a cold, curious look of amusement. I certainly hadn’t been expecting anything of this sort to occur.

I recognized Niijima-senpai’s silhouette among the group, and I was pretty sure that skeleton-faced guy was Ryuji Sakamoto. The others, I wasn’t certain of, but they all looked vaguely familiar— except for that weird giant-bubble headed thing with two triangles that were definitely not cat ears. I studied biology in my first year at Shujin; I know full well what cats look like.

Whatever the case, I was certain of one very specific thing. When I tracked them down, it would be necessary to convince them, and for that…

I turned away from my laptop, and walked over to Mother’s office door. There, I picked a paper clip from my pocket, and inserted it into the keyhole.

Mother knew full well how much I was prone to breaking and entering for the sake of gathering information, but the lock she had installed on the door was a rather cheap deterrent. I’d cracked many superior locks while stealing from the faculty office at Shujin, and this one in particular was child’s play.

Within a few short seconds, the door opened, and a smooth, triumphant smile found its way onto my face.

“Now, dear mother,” I whispered aloud, baring my teeth through my newfound grin, “let’s see what’s worth changing you for.”

* * *

**12/25/2016 Friday Evening**

“How… **_HOW CAN THIS BE?!”_ ** Shido Masayoshi shouted furiously. He stood up behind his desk, and, losing his temper, flung all of his belongings off of it. His accomplices haphazardly dodged the projectiles.

“Shido-san, sir!” Masaji Kaneto cried nervously, hastily rushing to pick up all the papers and books Shido had dislodged. “P-P-Please— you can’t lose your temper! You’re the glorious Masayoshi Shido! You need t-to, uh… keep your cool, as the kids say these days!”

 _“I DON’T GIVE A DAMN WHAT ‘THE KIDS SAY,’ KANETO!!!”_ Shido screamed, utterly incensed at his secretary’s naive optimism. He spun around and punched the wall point-blank, knocking away a chunk of it with his powerful fist.

 _Those damn Phantom Thieves,_ Shido thought, his anger swelling inside, as he considered the situation. He’d killed them… Akechi had reported that he’d killed them. Had Akechi failed? Lied? Had a change of heart at the last minute? A change of heart… before he’d been killed?

And then, suddenly, it hit him. _Akechi…_

“Of course,” he muttered quietly. “Of course! That brat… Ooe… so they would have come back! And that means that he, too—”

Kaneto nervously backed away. “Uh… sir! Is there a—”

“Find Akechi at once!” Shido barked at Kaneto.

“What?! But— you had him killed!”

“And I had the Phantom Thieves killed as well— and yet, they are still here!” Shido huffed furiously, his breath furious and fast. “Goro Akechi, too, escaped death! I am certain of this— so if you know what’s good for you, Kaneto, you shall DO AS YOU ARE TOLD!”

Shaking with fear, Kaneto stood up straightaway. “Yes, sir! I shall do so at once!” He rushed to the door, and quickly disappeared.

“The rest of you,” Shido shouted at the remainder of his subordinates, “search Isshiki’s research materials! Find a way to stop a change of heart!”

“Yes, sir!”

Not sooner had they begun raiding the shelves that Kaneto suddenly burst back into the office. “Uh— Shido-san! I’m sorry, but I seem to have lost the keys to your car—”

Shido pulled his car keys out of his pocket and threw them at Kaneto, who failed to react and catch them. They hit him square in the nose, and he yelped in pain.

“Now get out of here!”

“Yes!” Kaneto stood, rubbing his nose, and departed once more.

Shido was angry— fuming, even. But even beyond that, he was terrified. He was terrified of the Phantom Thieves. He didn’t want to imagine what would happen if his heart was changed… he would be ruined! His ship would crumble into the ocean! He would be prosecuted… he would go to prison… and he would never escape, never be able to earn back the trust of the public… never…

No, this would never do. He could not allow his heart to be changed. If the Phantom Thieves succeeded… Masayoshi Shido would never be able to save the world.

He picked up the phone and dialed the SSN.

_“Yes, Shido-sama?”_

“Prepare for an emergency broadcast!” Shido shouted into the receiver. “I’ll be along momentarily!”

* * *

“All right!” Futaba cheered. “QUEST COMPLETE!”

Kawakami smiled at them all with pride. “Akira, you’ve got yourself a terrific little group of troublemakers here.”

Akira bowed his head appreciatively, perpetually smirking. “Yep. We’re all bad to the bone.”

Ann shot him a weird look. “That sounds familiar…”

“We got them suckers!” Ryuji shouted, pumping his fist high in the air. “Can’t wait to see how that bastard Shido reacts!”

“We may not have to wait long,” Akira noted gleefully, gesturing to the TV set. “Here comes Mr. Super Great Shido-sama now—”

 _“We now take you to an emergency broadcast by Prime Minister Shido-sama, in response to the latest criminal act by these ‘Phantom Thieves…’”_ The bored as a board reporter quietly put down the papers, and shuffled offscreen.

“Wow, a reply this soon?!” Futaba shuffled her palms in anticipation. “I didn’t think we’d get that far… this fast!”

“That’s good!” Haru agreed pleasantly. “It means we’ve shaken him!”

Within a moment, Shido appeared onscreen. He was wearing a blank, picture-perfect face— but was clearly making a Herculean effort to contain his fury.

_“The notice put forth by these so-called Phantom Thieves is absolutely groundless. It is a wicked terrorist act, aimed at sabotaging my efforts to return order to this country, and should be condemned. What we need now, is a powerful, unyielding leader. I am willing to risk my life to fight them._

_“To those who call themselves the Phantom Thieves: Your actions are gravely serious crimes. You are rebelling against law and unnecessarily inciting alarm among the populace. However it is that you have duped the police into believing yourselves dead, you must turn yourselves into the authorities, and apologize to the people of this proud nation.”_

“Apologize?” Yusuke chuckled dryly. “Why, quite the funny joke.”

“That bastard Shido’s tryin’ to act all calm,” Ryuji remarked, “but he’s really freakin’ out on the inside, ain’t he?”

“I can only imagine,” Sae noted, nodding coldly, “considering all the atrocities he’s committed. I swear I’ll see that he gets what’s coming…”

“Don’t get too worked up yet, Sis,” Makoto reminded her. “You’re not alone anymore. We’ll get justice for Dad together.”

Sae gently bowed her head in simple acknowledgement. “I know. I haven’t forgotten.”

Morgana meowed to signal his enthusiasm. “Don’t worry. We’re gonna do awesome!”

Kawakami waved towards the door. “Okay, now get going already!” She smiled at them all encouragingly.

The Phantom Thieves all bowed their heads in agreement, and immediately exited the apartment.

* * *

**12/25/2016 ❅ FRiDAY Evening**  
**Find evidence against Mother**

My mother’s office was a rather small and plain room, with a large filing cabinet, and a rather tiny computer situated on her desk. A few pictures of little old orange-haired me from years past adorned the plainly painted walls, but they had been positioned in rather odd locations where they wouldn’t immediately be seen by a normal observer. I got the sense that she really didn’t want to look at me at all, which I found strange.

“So I’m not your most important child, is that it?” I murmured, as I picked open and quietly began leafing through the papers in her filing cabinet. “No, that would be one of your other precious orphans you’re protecting at the Pumpkin patch… right?”

I withdrew a small folder, and opened it. The file inside was engraved with a name: _Kaede Ueda._

“Right…”

Her photo, somewhat curiously, was absent. The remainder of her profile went on and on, saying her age, name, and the status of her parents— Hm. They were both alive.

Except, it appeared that Mother had crossed out their names— they’d been scratched right through, with cold blue pen. A note next to them read simply: **KEEP HER SAFE.**

Why was this, I wondered? Was it because she was trying to— do something, to this little girl, Kaede? Or Kaede’s parents? What if… she planned on kidnapping her, or doing something equally insane, in a twisted effort to “protect” her? I had to admit to myself, this worried me a little. I wouldn’t put it past Mother to do something like that…

Well— Perhaps that was the case. Perhaps it wasn’t. In any case, this would surely not be a hard story to spin for those naively heroic Phantom Thieves. With a little luck, they’d change my mother’s heart, and she’d soon let me do whatever I wanted. It was not my concern what ultimately happened to this girl Kaede.

I’d got what I needed. So, I swiped the file from the folder, folded and pocketed the paper, and turned to leave the office.

“Soon, Mother, you’re getting…”

“What am I getting, Pumpkin?”

The hairs on my neck stood up. When had she come home?! I hadn’t heard any doors open, and she wasn’t supposed to be—

“Don’t you have a staff meeting until ten?”

“It was canceled,” she explained, “because the head of staff called it off to ensure we hadn’t been affected by the Phantom Thief broadcast attack. Foolish. As if those Phantom Thieves would ever target us!”

 _Oh, Mother,_ I thought, resisting the urge to cast a knowing smirk. _If only you knew._

“But that’s not important. What were you doing in my office?!”

“Nothing at all. The door was open, and I just so happened to wander in here without a thought.” I gestured towards the open door. “See for yourself.”

Mother clearly didn’t believe me. Not that I had expected her to. But I hoped my confidence would annoy her, and she’d give up looking into this further.

This was not the case, unfortunately. Mother strolled into the office.

Moments later, she emerged, looking furious.

“Is something wrong, Mother?” I inquired with faux innocence.

“Young lady,” she returned crossly, holding out her hand. “You will give back what you stole from me at once.”

“Stole?” I shot back sarcastically, feigning confusion that we both knew full well was false. “I didn’t steal anything! I wouldn’t dream of that! Perhaps you have simply made a tragic oversight in securing the room against pesky robbers. You ought to check if you locked the window!”

Mother glared at me, still holding out her hand for the stolen item.

I glared back.

 _I hate you with… not all my heart, but perhaps… seventy-five percent of my heart,_ I decided, as I stared at her intently, with a defiant frown. _Do whatever you may to me, but I will NEVER obey you!_

My mother lowered her hand, clearly trying to contain her anger. “Fine. We’ll play this game. If you’re not going to give me back what you stole, I can be a thief too.”

“NO!” I yelled, standing in front of her with my arms outstretched. “You are not going to touch my things!”

“Oh, you said things, plural, is that right?” My mother roughly shoved me aside. “So I can steal _one_ thing from you, but not more. That would be your logic, correct— Little Miss Words?”

I stood up and blocked her way again. “You are NOT allowed to go in my room!”

“I’m your mother, I can do whatever I want.” She slapped me, and I fell— not so much out of force. It didn’t really hurt, but it did surprise me, and make me lose my balance.

Helpless to stop her, I watched as she entered my room, and thought back, now, to the last time I’d been hit by one of my blood.

My father, blaming me for what Auntie Ichiko had done to us.

I spat gently, and confirmed that I was obviously not spitting blood.

So I put the memory out my mind. It wasn’t applicable to this moment. The pain I had experienced then was nowhere near the mild humiliation I felt now.

Except, if I let my mother get away with this, it might possibly be more than that…

“So… you saw Ichiko?!”

I righted myself and faced forward, still defiant as ever. “Nope. Never.”

But I knew that my denial was useless. Mother was holding my notebook right in her hands, and her eyes were those of a vengeful fire.

“So this that you wrote here about Ichiko never happened?”

“It’s a dream journal.”

Mother closed the notebook and smacked it down on the coffee table, seemingly with the force of an anvil. I flinched nervously, as said table shook slightly. She stared down, her face cold and disappointed, averting eye contact.

“You know you’re to have nothing to do with Ichiko.”

“She wasn’t drunk.”

“You know it has nothing to do with her alcoholism.”

“I do.”

“You know it’s her fault.”

“I don’t.”

My mother glared at me again, even more coldly than before.

“It’s _her_ fault, Pumpkin!”

“It isn’t. It’s Father’s fault. It’s _your_ fault!” I screamed, holding back tears of anger. “You were the one who trusted him in the first place!”

“And it was Ichiko who broke _his_ trust in _US!”_ Mother’s voice climbed a step above my own. “And you were the one who trusted HER!”

“And YOU,” I returned, my own voice rising to meet the challenge, “WERE THE ONE WHO COULDN’T TRUST _YOUR OWN GODDAMNED_ **_SISTER!”_ **

At this, she stepped back. “You… How dare you tell me—”

“Now you…” I slowed and quieted my voice, breathing heavily. “You tell me about trust, Mother. You tell me all about trust, when you can’t trust your sister, or your daughter, or even _yourself,_ to care… and you ask me why I don’t care about anyone but myself?!”

I coughed, my voice wearing thin from screaming and shouting, before looking at Mother once more to make sure she was still listening.

“Because I can’t trust anyone else. Maybe I’m not perfect, but I’m the closest thing to perfect I know… and what else would you have me know? Besides you… and your delusions… your obsession with Father—”

**_BAM._ **

Mother’s fist quivered as it collided with the coffee table. I stopped talking, and swallowed nervously.

“One. Last. Chance.” She spat the words like darts. “I’ll return your notebook, and overlook your lip, if you give back what you stole from me.”

There was a moment of silence, as I, at first, responded only with a continued state of defiance.

“I’ll ask again. Do you want your notebook back, or—”

“Fuck you.”

I’d never spoken those two particular words to her face before, and I almost regretted them. Almost.

I gave a smug, yet somehow satisfied, frown.

Mother was completely and totally appalled.

“Fine.” She took the notebook to our kitchenette and placed it on the stovetop. “Then I won’t,” she turned on the burner knob, “give it back.”

No longer so pleased with myself, I fought to contain my emotion at seeing my notes being burned, doing my best to maintain my smug, defiant expression.

The smell of burning ink hit my nose, and I wanted to choke— but I simply stood, refusing to relent.

“You will not see Ichiko again. You will not go back to school. You will not leave this apartment. And most importantly—” she pushed the most emphasis onto these words, “You will _not_ enlist anyone, those Phantom Thieves, or anyone else, to change my heart!”

Right. Naturally, she’d read the notebook. Hence, I was at a bit of a disadvantage here.

I said the natural thing.

“Fuck. You.”

“Fine.” Mother’s expression grew only ever so angrier. “Then we’re moving. I don’t care what you do, but I am _not_ staying here where those Phantom Thieves can get to me. However it is they do it, I am _not_ letting them rob me of my free will!”

“That won’t work. They’re Phantom Thieves.”

“Whose victims all lived within the limits of the city of Tokyo, yes!”

I swallowed.

She had a point there. There were certainly many powerful tyrants across the globe who fit the Phantom Thieves’ target criteria perfectly. The only logical reason as to why those people had not been targeted would have to be because… they _couldn’t_ be targeted.

Meaning that if my mother left Tokyo, this would almost certainly be a lost cause.

“I have some business to finish at the orphanage before we move.” Mother turned off the stove, and walked away to her room, abandoning the ashes of my notebook. “We’ll leave after the next staff meeting.”

_The next staff meeting._

Meetings of the orphanage staff happened twice a month, on the evening of every third and fourth Sunday— including holidays. The next meeting of the staff was January 15th. Which meant…

**Days Until Move: 19**

Not much time to find the Phantom Thieves, but—

“Not a problem.”

I smiled a smug, confident, triumphant smile.

_Oh, my dear Mother… you’ll change soon enough._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I tried my bestest best to hype the color and color the hype.
> 
> There's one more thing I wanna talk about before I go:
> 
> _“Hey,” Morgana asked, “why didn’t I get any lines again?”_
> 
> I don't believe I've quite addressed how I've been sidelining Morgana. He's difficult to write for... so I just... don't write him much at all.
> 
> I like him in P5, well, y'know, as a personality, kind of. From a video game standpoint, he's a good character. His literal reason for being is to be a guide through the game.
> 
> From a writing standpoint, this is really really difficult to work with. Nearly everything he says in P5 could be said by Akira, if Akira talked. And since Akira does talk... Why the hell's he there then? He may as well not exist. And I guess I could change his character to fit my narrative or for some more interesting stuff to happen cause it's fanfiction and I can do that... but how? I don't have a good idea for how to do so and I don't really give enough of a fuck to actively try to think one up.
> 
> If none of you care about this, great, I can stop talking about it. But if any of you do, and have an idea for how I can make Morgana do more shit besides just be an expository exposition kitty, that's cool, and appreciated.
> 
> Anyway, see you next time!


	26. The Disappearance of Goro Akechi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I did say I had a lot of chapter 26 done. Chapter 27 is less done. But well. It might come tomorrow. It might come the day after tomorrow. It might come in a week. Who knows? I, the all-powerful writer, sure as hell don't...

**12/25/2016 ❅ FRiDAY Evening**  
**Steal Shido's Heart**  
**「Defeat Shido」**

“SHIDO!” Skull yelled.

The indifferent politician slowly turned his back, appearing unconcerned— as though the Phantom Thieves of Hearts were not more than an insignificant scab, to soon be flicked into the trash.

“Hmmf, where did you lowlifes obtain that power?” Shido wondered, appearing disgusted. “Well, not that it matters. If you have a complaint, I shall be willing to listen.”

Ace, her gown flowing in the wind, stepped forward. Her dark cherry red opera gloves were tightened to fists, and a venomous glare pierced her silver mask.

“I dare say I would indeed like to complain,” she stated, looking up towards the indifferent Shido. “You made me an unwitting pawn in your _disgusting_ conspiracy to pervert this country— and killed my father—” For a moment, her eyes darted back to Queen, but instantly returned to Shido. “ _Our_ father!”

“Ah, yes, Niijima-san,” Shido seemed amused. “To think you would join these foolish children on their naive quest to ‘reform society.’ Have you no sense? Did you perchance lose your understanding of where a woman belongs in this world?”

Ace hissed at Shido furiously. “You… You think you know where a woman belongs?! I have worked all my life towards my ideal… my ambition… for my father, my sister!”

“You ought to know _your place!”_ Shido barked fiercely, returning Ace’s deadly glare and fierce grimace.

The two stared for a moment, and—

After a moment, Shido began laughing.

Ace looked on, in incredulous disbelief…

“What do you think is so funny?!”

“Come to think of it,” Shido mused, “you did mention your ideals. Yes, it was those, combined with your ambitious nature, that made you such an effective tool. You were so desperate to achieve justice, and this thirst was trivially easy to satisfy.

“You were such an effective prosecutor, and having the evidence of your cases manipulated to your advantage was child’s play. It was not long before you became so distracted with tallying your wins and achieving a promotion, that I soon had no need to worry that you might apply your skills to uncovering the truth about your father’s death, and finding your way to me!”

Ace snarled. “You would _dare—!”_

“Oh, there's no need to be so upset with me, Niijima,” Shido replied nonchalantly. “Was it not your desire to succeed? To _win?_ I do believe I fulfilled that desire for you! You should be thanking me, rather than assisting in this childish resistance!”

“SHUT UP!” Queen shrieked at Shido. “Don’t you talk to my sister like that! You have no idea how hard she has worked… for me!”

Ace looked surprised. “I— Mak-Queen, I—”

“Even if you were distorted,” Queen told her sister, “you cared… you were trying to help me! To protect me, in your own way!”

Shido chuckled. “My, how touching.”

“What did you do to Akechi?!” Fox shouted. “He… He was your own son!”

“So he was.” Shido shrugged, not affected. “Yes, he did tell me so. I always had a feeling it might be something like that… He reminded me too much of that woman. Fumiko was always so ridiculous, lost in her own useless sorrow. My appearance in her life distracted her for a moment. We shared such a shallow, meaningless pleasure.”

He turned his back to the thieves, and sighed tiredly, seeming bored of it all. “Such a shame Akechi survived. How foolish you all were to spare him.”

“We weren’t foolish!” Joker shot back. “You destroyed him! You made him who he is!”

“No, it was he who approached me!” Shido returned. “He was the one who began causing psychotic breakdowns, and who came to me asking for employment! I saw through his ploy right away! I would have killed him, but it wasn’t long before I learned the truth…” Shido chuckled. “Yes, Akechi appeared because of the great expectations entrusted to me by _GOD!”_

“God?” Panther shouted disbelievingly. “What are you talking about?!”

“It was He who put forth the truth— that I was destined to reform the world!” Shido declared boldly. “To awaken the ignorant masses! And once I was near to that goal, I intended to dispose of Akechi… it was not a great challenge to manipulate him!” He raised his fist. “He may have gotten away— but it is of no consequence. I shall find him soon!”

“You’re one sick bastard!” Skull shouted.

“You stole my mom’s research… and took her life!” Oracle chimed in.

“And my father’s as well— All in service of your despicable, delusional scheme!” Noir added furiously. “And now, all of us are here… to take away _everything from you!”_

Joker raised his crimson hand, ready to take on Shido’s challenge. “Come at us with your best shot, you asshole!” he shouted. “These ‘lowlifes’ are gonna defeat you with _all they are!”_

Shido laughed uproariously, and lifted his own hands. A great commotion of voices, cheering and clapping, began ringing through the auditorium…

* * *

**12/25/2016 ❅ FRiDAY Evening**

Goro Akechi quietly sat in his apartment, alone, contemplating the news. He had lost the key at some point, but the door had been unlocked, and his belongings, surprisingly untouched. It made sense, of course— the landlord didn’t exactly excel at maintenance.

The Phantom Thieves had won, and soon, his father’s heart would change. He almost wanted to cheer them on, but— after all he’d done, he hadn’t the right to. But there was also no way he could finish his quest now.

It was time for the Ace Detective to disappear.

“I’m sorry, Mother,” he whispered, as he began packing his things. “I couldn’t be a hero…”

* * *

**7/16/2003 ☀ WeDNESDaY Evening**

“And then Robin Hood saved the day,” Fumiko said cheerfully, with a small smile. “The Sheriff of Nottingham tried to catch Robin, but he was too clever— and ran off with all the gold! The End.”

The young Goro clapped happily. “That was such an awesome story!”

“You’ve heard it dozens of times, and still aren’t tired of it?” Fumiko laughed. “I’m impressed.”

“I could never get tired of it, Mom!” Goro smiled at his mother. “Because I want to be a hero, just like Robin Hood, and win against bad guys like the sheriff! And like Dad!”

Fumiko’s smile faded a little at the mention of Goro’s father.

She put down the book.

“Goro, promise me something, please?”

Goro’s enthusiasm faded a little, and he looked at Fumiko curiously.

“A promise?”

Fumiko nodded gently.

“What is it?”

“If you become a…” Her tone was soft and hopeful. “A hero, like Robin Hood— please, find and defeat your father. He’s a very bad guy. He needs a hero to stop him. Okay?”

Goro looked a little surprised. Even for how young he was, he recognized that this was a serious promise.

“You want me to be the hero who stops Dad?”

Fumiko nodded once more. “If you can. Then… I want you to try.”

He hesitated a moment, but then—

He smiled with determination.

“I’ll do it!” Goro bounced his head up and down energetically. “I’ll be a hero, like Robin Hood, who stops Dad! I promise, Mom! I’ll stop him, just like in the story!”

“Okay!” Fumiko seemed happy. “I know you can do it, Goro!”

* * *

Goro Akechi had rarely ever seen his mother as happy with him as she had been in that moment. And, in that moment, she had seemed to believe in him… to really and truly believe that he could really be the hero who defeated Shido.

He had that power now. He had come so far, and yet— that honor of hero was to be earned by Akira Kurusu, rather than Akechi, who had worked for over two years to reach Shido and tear him apart. What had gone wrong?

Akechi knew exactly what had gone wrong— he had become a villain, no different from any of the bad guys in those adventure stories that had used to be his favorites. He’d been ignoring this simple fact for so long, justifying it by telling himself that there was no other way to achieve his goal. But… the Phantom Thieves had proven that there was.

If he had realized that a change of heart, as opposed to a psychotic breakdown or mental shutdown, was possible sooner— might he have taken a better path? Or would he have been cold enough to believe that all his enemies deserved such pain, even while knowing of a more noble option?

No. By the time he’d learned of the cognitive world, he’d already become the villain simply by willing such pain. He would have continued to hurt people. He couldn’t have changed then— And he couldn’t change now. And there was nothing he could do to fix that— except run, far, far away, and make a new life for himself. No more Detective Prince. He, his mother, the legacy of the Akechis and their fallen company, would all be forgotten.

And that, he reasoned, was all for the best. There was nothing he could do to fix what he had done. As much as he hated to admit it— Everything he had worked for now rested in the hands of the Phantom Thieves.

* * *

**12/25/2016 ❅ FRiDAY Evening**  
**Steal Shido's Heart**  
**「Defeat Shido」**

“Useless, ignorant masses!” Shadow Shido complained, glaring upon the toppled golden pyramid of people. “It seems even _thieves_ should not be taken lightly if they come in great enough numbers!”

“So once you’re losin’,” Skull yelled, “then you’re puttin’ all the blame on the masses, huh?!”

Shido ignored Skull, and turned his attention to Joker. “So, you are the one unifying these foolish children,” he noted. “You are special, somehow. You are like Akechi, but far more focused in your cause. Not simply preoccupied with your own selfish ends. How I wish _you_ were my son instead of he!” He chuckled. “I can only assume that the means by which the two of you have both cheated death is his power, and yours.”

A small grin crept across Joker’s face, and he laughed.

Shido looked confused and angered. “Do you think this is a joke?!”

“I suppose I ought to thank you, Shido. It’s thanks to you,” Joker explained, matter-of-factly, “that my heart has become what it is now. You know that old saying? ‘What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.’”

“What are you talking about?!”

“You don’t remember?” Joker slowed his laugh to a sly chuckle, and shrank his grin to a smirk. “Heh— I suppose I couldn’t expect such a thing from you.” He looked slightly downwards, lifted his red-gloved hand to his face, and removed his mask.

Akira stared up at Shido, still smirking. “Long time no see…”

“What— could you be?!” Shido gasped. “The one from back then… that _brat,_ who came and stood against me when I was with that woman!”

“You ought to be ashamed of yourself!” Queen shouted at him. “You took him to court, and you don’t even remember his name?! You truly don’t care about the fates of others! Just as… Our father—”

“Was nothing to you?!” Ace shouted as well. “The way you so thoughtlessly destroyed our family?”

“The next time you crush a foe,” Fox commented, “I suggest you do it in a more certain manner.”

“Not that there’ll be a next time for you!” Oracle added.

Shido laughed. “Well, what a curious turn of fate. So this is how you all have come here— but your efforts will be worthless in the end!”

* * *

**12/25/2016 Friday Evening**

_“AGH!”_

Shido felt a great pain in his head as he nearly keeled over, hearing a voice echo. He could have sworn he saw the air become tinged with a strange shade of pinkish purple. As if from somewhere else… and… from that Phantom Thief on the broadcast!

_ I suppose I ought to thank you, Shido… _

“GOD DAMN IT!” He stood up and turned to his subordinates, who were still searching Isshiki’s research, the huge pile of notebooks and papers lying on the coffee table in the center of his office. “There’s not much time! Hurry up and find out how to stop the Phantom Thieves!”

“We’re searching!” one of them replied, panicked. “But we can’t find anything useful yet!”

Looking now, Shido could see why. Wakaba Isshiki’s notebooks were incredibly disorganized— deliberately, it seemed. The sections were out of order, and many sticky notes which mislead, incorrectly marking pages with the wrong topics. He supposed that were he searching the notes himself, he’d quickly lose patience. He could almost hear her ghost laughing at them…

_Damn Wakaba Isshiki, and damn the Phantom Thieves!_

As Shido righted himself, the phone rang. He swiftly swiped his hand forwards and answered it. “Hello?!”

A deep, amused laughter came from the other end of the line, and Shido rolled his eyes in exasperation.

“Have you called to waste my time yet again?!”

 _“I would suspect there is not much time left to waste,”_ the benefactor said cooly. _“When we first met, Masayoshi Shido, I sensed that you were a foolish man, but that you would accomplish great things. You have unfortunately disappointed me. Such a great shame, indeed. Ha ha ha…”_

“This is all _your_ fault!” Shido barked into the receiver. “You did not warn me this was going to occur, instead leaving me a series of foolish and cryptic hints that I could have never hoped to understand! I never had the means of knowing that there was a way of circumventing death!”

_“To be quite frank, nor did I. However, I sensed that there would soon come a great and unexpected imbalance in this game. But never did I dream that—”_

“THEN WHAT KIND OF GOD ARE YOU?!!”

 _“That is beyond my knowledge,” _ the man responded snarkily.

Shido huffed in fury. “Do not think you can take me for a fool!”

_“I must say— if nothing else, this disruption of the usual expectations has greatly broken the monotony of this game. I daresay it shall now be possible to prolong it a short while longer for the sake of my amusement. But you, Shido, shall unfortunately no longer have a place in this game. What a regrettable outcome, indeed…”_

“What are you talking about?!” Shido raged into the phone. “I have not lost yet!”

 _“No. But you shall. It is a fate that has transcended even my own interference.”_ The God man laughed derisively once more. _“Goodbye, Masayoshi Shido.”_

And then the line went dead.

Shido sighed angrily, and sat, resenting this state of inaction which he was now forced to occupy as he waited on everyone else to do his dirty work. Whenever was anything going to get done? When were his incompetent “co-workers” ever going to finish their job? And when was Kaneto—

Suddenly, the phone rang yet again.

“Hello?!”

 _“Shido-san!”_ Masaji Kaneto’s voice shouted. _“I have located Goro Akechi!”_

“Then _capture him,_ you imbecile!” Shido was furious that Kaneto would not be able to infer this for himself. “And where have you been?!”

_“I’ve been trying to call, but the line was busy!”_

Shido sighed furiously. Kaneto should in fact not have been wasting his time trying to call at all, but telling him so was bound to only result in a long and tedious exchange between this idiot. “No matter! Get him and bring him at once!”

_“Yes, I shall do this at once!”_

* * *

**12/25/2016 ❅ FRiDAY Evening**  
**Disappear**

Akechi was about to drive out of the apartment garage, but someone tapped on the window of the car he had stolen. Probably the owner of the vehicle. He wanted to ignore them, but he knew that they would probably chase him, or call the police. It was best to apologize and talk out of the situation.

Sighing, Akechi rolled down the window. “I apologize for borrowing the car, but—” When he saw who it was, he gasped.

“Masaji Kaneto!” He nearly jumped in surprise, before assuming a look of shocked anger. “What have you come for?! Has Father sent you?”

“Young Master Akechi, I am sorry to do this!”

“Wha-!!!”

A bag was shoved over Akechi’s head, blinding him, and he was forcibly and violently pulled out of the vehicle through the open window.

Akechi struggled against his captor, to no avail. Kaneto handcuffed him, then threw him into a cramped, carpeted space. Probably a car trunk, judging by the looks of things.

 _“WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!”_ Akechi shouted. _“I DEMAND YOU LET ME OUT OF HERE AT ONCE!!!”_

There was no response. Akechi couldn’t see a thing, but he soon felt the vehicle begin to move.

* * *

Akechi coughed roughly, as the bag was removed from his head. His hands were now cuffed to the chair he was sitting in. Before him, he saw the incensed, yet so clearly desperate, face of Masayoshi Shido.

“Akechi!” Shido shouted furiously. “You will depart to my Palace and interfere with the change of heart by killing the Phantom Thieves! I shall not negotiate with you!”

“I see.” Akechi frowned discontentedly. “I believe you ought to have considered this before you so rudely had me killed… _Father.”_

He stressed the word “father” in a rather spiteful tone as he spoke, taking the opportunity to rub it in for all it was worth. Shido’s jaw clenched at hearing it, and his fists began shaking with fury.

“Shido-san!” one of the subordinates searching the research suddenly shouted. “We think we found a way! We’ll need to make a phone call—”

Shido held out his hand, and the man nervously silenced himself. Turning away, he pulled out his cell phone and quietly sent a text.

“How have the Phantom Thieves survived?” He demanded, his anger mounting higher and higher. “How… have you survived?!”

Akechi laughed. “Why would I bother to tell you that?” He smiled slyly, and began moving his wrists. “It wouldn’t be useful to you, Father.”

 _“DO NOT CALL ME YOUR FATHER!”_ Shido yelled, smacking Akechi across the face with his right hand. “You will _never_ be my son!”

Akechi turned his bruised face once again to look at his unwilling father.

“Very well.” Akechi smirked. “I expected nothing less from you. It’s about time that I do what I should have done years ago, when I first set foot in this room.”

There was a small snap of metal, and Akechi stood upwards.

Surprised, Shido hardly had any time to react. He soon found himself thrown against the wall, his unwanted child’s hands pinned firmly to his throat.

Shido gagged, struggling…

* * *

**12/25/2016 ❅ FRiDAY Evening**  
**Steal Shido's Heart**  
**「Defeat Shido」**

 _“IRENE!”_ Ace called as she tore off her mask vigilantly. “Follow up!”

 _“By all means, my love!”_ Irene appeared, and threw several bolts of darkness at Shido.

“AGH!” Shido yelled, crumpling to the groud, appearing as though he was short of breath.

“What the hell’s wrong with him?” Skull questioned. “Did Ace use some special move or somethin’?!

“No, of course not!” Mona replied, as the team watched the Shadow Shido struggle against an invisible force. “Something must be happening to the real Shido!”

Joker put his hand to his chin curiously. “Who might be…?”

* * *

**12/25/2016 ❅ FRiDAY Evening**  
**Kill Father**

_“SHIDO-SAN!”_

Shido’s men were looking upwards at the scuffle in shock and concern, trying their best to stay out of the way.

“This— has nothing… to… do with you!” the choking Shido spat at them, furiously, as he fought against Akechi. “I shall… handle him _MYSELF!”_

As he spoke those last words, Shido wrestled Akechi’s hands off of his neck, and threw the enraged teenage boy away into his desk.

Akechi grimaced, rubbing his eyes, mostly unfazed. “Father…”

 _“I SAID NOT TO— AAGH!”_ The air became tinted with purple, and Shido, mid-sentence, tipped sideways, appearing rather nauseous.

“What was…” And then, Akechi’s confused expression faded, as he realized what was happening. “I see. Of course I’d not be the only one…” He smiled wickedly.

“So, Akira… this shall be our final game.”

* * *

“Nnnnnggghhh— DAMN IT!” Shido groaned. “How are these lowlife brats… beating me?!”

Joker came forth, and cast forward his crimson hands theatrically, the tail of his coat moving in the wind behind him. “It’s about time you give up, Shido!”

Ace stepped forward, as well, her gown similarly floating. “I will serve justice at last, and my father shall be avenged!”

 _“Aaaaaaahahaahahaaaaha!!”_ Shido laughed. “Don’t think you’ve won! The power of the most elite is what rules over our society! It’s vexing that I must use this on some foolish brats— but I will educate you through and through!”

The enormous Shido flexed his powerful muscles, and broke apart the metal supports protecting him.

 _“WHAT?!”_ Oracle gasped. “He’s even stronger now! If we’re not careful, we could be…!”

“It doesn’t matter!” Noir shouted, hefting her axe and rushing forward. _“We’re not gonna lose to him!”_

“NOIR!” Joker shouted. “Don’t! We can’t—”

The Shadow Shido lifted his fist and grabbed Noir’s axe, stopping her attack.

“What…?! How…”

Noir barely had any time to comprehend, before she was thrown back and hurled towards the Phantom Thieves. She crashed into the wooden surface beneath them, and groaned. “Father… I…”

“NOIR!” Queen rushed towards their unconscious teammate, and attempted to cast a healing spell— but Shido rushed forth and knocked her back as well.

“We can’t attack him too quickly!” Oracle shouted. “Wait until he wears himself out, and wait for an opening!”

Queen got up, and the Phantom Thieves all took defensive stances.

* * *

No sooner had Akechi spoken, that he felt a familiar force pressed against his forehead. A force that he had once exercised himself.

Shido clicked the trigger of the gun into place. “Time to dispose of you!”

“Heh.” Akechi chuckled. “I suppose that’s it, then—”

He swiftly kicked Shido in the groin, and he doubled over, dropping the gun— which Akechi swiftly retrieved.

“I win.”

* * *

“YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME!” Shido shouted. “I AM THE SAVIOR WHO SHALL— _AAGH!”_ Suddenly clutching his groin, the charged Shadow Shido doubled over. “What… are you… doing?!”

“I don’t think we’re doing anything!” Mona said, watching curiously. “It must be whoever’s fighting the real Shido, changing his cognition!”

“Who cares?!” Panther stood, cracking her whip like a cowgirl. “Let’s get him!”

“I don’t think we’ll be able to knock him out that easily!” warned Oracle. “He’s been knocked over, but—”

Appearing critically angered, Shido stood up, and let out an enormous battle cry.

“He’s already recovered!” Queen noted.

“How the hell are we supposed to stop him?!” Skull yelled.

“Damn it…” Joker coughed, exhausted. “You’ve sure as hell lived up to all your talk, Shido.”

And then, high above Joker’s head, Arsene appeared.

_ “Might I suggest an alternative strategy?” _

* * *

“Please don’t kill me!!!”

Masaji Kaneto, who had previously simply standing by and observing the scene with a look of terrific concern on his face, turned and fled the room in fear.

The other subordinates stuck around, in spite of their own fear, out of what could only be assumed to be a sense of great duty.

“So I guess I’ll be killed by my son…” Shido chuckled, still wincing from being hit in the nuts. “Ha. How amusing.”

“Yes,” Akechi said, clicking the trigger in place. “But I’m afraid it’s too late to call me your son. After all you did to my mother… I’ll finally fulfill my promise to her.”

Shido rolled his eyes. “Whatever did I do to your foolish mother?”

* * *

“Arsene?!” Joker looked upwards. “What’s going on?”

_ “Oh, are you thinking what I’m thinking?” _

Ace’s mouth opened in surprise. “Irene?!”

_ “Perhaps. You and I have some complementing specialties, correct?” _

_ “That I believe we do, darling! Shall we put it to use?” _

“‘Complementing specialties?’” Oracle wondered, puzzled at what Arsene and Irene meant by that. “Oh… that’s right! Ace, Joker! Your Personas use similar types of attacks— don’t they?”

Ace and Joker looked at each other for a second, and then at their Personas…

“Arsene, are you saying…?”

“Irene, that we should—”

_ “Precisely!” _

_ “Indeed, my love!” _

“Light and Dark put together?” Queen looked skeptical. “Would that really work?! I don’t think we’ve ever tried anything like that before—”

“Why the hell wouldn’t we?” Skull pointed out. “If Arsene and Irene are so damn confident, why _wouldn’t_ it work?!”

“Well… I guess you can’t argue with that,” Mona supposed.

Joker nodded eagerly, and held out his hand to Ace. “Shall we, Prosecutor?”

Ace smiled lightly. “If you’re so sure— Joker.”

Joining hands with the gallant leader of the Phantom Thieves, Ace turned back to Shido and whisked off her mask.

“Irene—”

“Arsene!”

The two Personas, still high in the air above the prosecutor and delinquent from whose souls they came, joined hands as well. And the two thieves then shouted at the top of their lungs:

**_“PERSONA!”_ **

* * *

“My mother,” Akechi hissed at Shido, as a wet drop of salt rolled past his deep, contempt-infused frown. “You killed my mother.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Shido said, finding this very funny. “Your mother took her own life of her own volition. You weren’t around to make her have a psychotic breakdown, now were you—”

 _“You killed my mother,”_ Akechi insisted, pressing the barrel of the gun further against Shido’s head. “She died in front of me, screaming your name… about how you used me to curse her. Even as a child… I was always your _tool!”_ Akechi punched Shido with his other hand, sending a tooth flying. “I was always the tool you used to hurt people… you made me this monster that I am… and there’s _nothing I can do about it!”_

Shido only continued to look bemused, even through his bleeding jaw. “Ha. How naive. You chose this path, Akechi. I only took advantage of your own poor choices— and your mother’s! I did nothing to earn the assets of the Akechi Corporation and the right to dissolve them. It was only because your mother made her own choice! Don’t delude yourself with such a childish fantasy!”

“It is no more fantasy,” Akechi shot back, “than your own vision of Japan as a ship!”

Shido laughed…

And laughed, and laughed…

Akechi’s index finger began to slowly apply pressure—

And then, the air once again fizzed into purple.

“No…” Shido gasped, as he placed his hand upon his throbbing head. “Did… they… succeed?!”

* * *

Irene and Arsene, together, fired a colorful assault of light and dark onto Shido’s final Shadow form…

_“DAMN… IT!!!”_

And then the Shadow fell, fading and fading away until he returned to his original appearance— that resembling the real-world Shido.

“How could I… lose?”

Queen stood, staring down at Shido with absolutely no sympathy in her eyes. “For causing countless mental shutdowns in others—”

“You will pay.” Ace put back on her mask. “You will be judged under the law, and forced to atone for your crimes. I promise you that I shall personally see to it that you suffer the consequences.”

Queen looked irritated at having been interrupted, but said nothing.

“Got something to say to our leader before you go passin’ out?!” Skull asked.

“Yes.” Shido looked up at Akira. “I acknowledge…” Shadow Shido panted, breathlessly, “that I incriminated you on false charges. I did it to protect myself…” Shido’s expression was truly downcast, yet dignified nonetheless in the guilt he expressed. “I’m so sorry for what I’ve done, Kurusu.”

“Thanks,” Akira said to Shido, kneeling down to meet his eyes and offering his hand. The defeated Shadow accepted the offer, and the two foes shook hands.

“But,” he went on, “that’s not enough. You need to go back and atone for all that you’ve done— for the mental shutdowns; the murders you ordered— and the corruption of your son.”

“My son…” Shido gasped, smiling a little. “Yes… that may be good. It feels as if it’s been quite some time since I’ve felt sincerely apologetic.” He chuckled. “I’ve been defeated… ha… haha… hahahaha…”

He shook his head in bemused disappointment.

* * *

**12/25/2016 ❅ FRiDAY Evening**  
**Kill Father...?**

Akechi watched curiously, as Shido appeared to be struggling against his own self. He knew that this was the prime opportunity to pull the trigger, but— it was simply too strange. Was this the change of—

Shido looked up, his eyes full of sorrow.

Akechi gasped in surprise. “Father…?!”

“Goro… my son.” Shido appeared to be fighting the words as he spoke them. “I’m… truly… _sorry… AGGH!!!”_ Shido shook his head furiously, as if attempting to shake off his change of heart, as if trying to banish a rather persistent insect— yet he still looked like he meant it. “For… all I’ve done!”

Akechi’s eyes were wide open. It was never a thing he had expected, for his father to say such things.

“For… your mother! I’m sorry… I pushed her to suicide! I stole from her… I fabricated scandals surrounding her… I-I—” Shido stopped, and gagged, clutching his stomach as though about to puke— then turned his eyes to his subordinates. They too, were only watching in shock.

Akechi smiled. “What a surprise… I didn’t think such a heartfelt apology would make a difference. But—”

“STOP THIS AT ONCE!” Shido shouted. “It’s already happening! This can’t be allowed to—”

Akechi did not lower the gun, instead pressing it further into the side of Shido’s head. “I think it’s about time you accept defeat—”

Shido looked up at his son, true fear filling his eyes.

“Goro… please! Please don’t…”

“The Phantom Thieves have won this game again. And so,” Goro Akechi declared, “I too shall accept my defeat.”

He lifted the gun and fired—

Shido shielded himself from the many falling pieces of shattered glass.

Akechi pocketed the gun as he turned his back to the broken window, and smiled at his father.

“I do believe I shall be going now.”

And then the Ace Detective fell.

_“GORO!”_

* * *

**12/25/2016 ❅ FRiDAY Evening**  
**Steal Shido's Heart**  
**「Take Treasure」**

“But don’t think this means you’ve won for good,” Shido said coldly.

“What the hell d’you mean by that?!” Skull shouted at him.

Shido chuckled again, slyly. “He who has given me this duty… God… he shall not be pleased with this turn of events. It shall not be too soon… but— he shall strike with his divine—”

“Stop talking nonsense!” Noir shouted incredulously, drawing her axe. “There is no such thing as—”

“Hey,” Joker held out his arm and blocked Noir. “Let’s hear him out.”

“This great God, who shall have terror rain upon you brats from the heavens…” Shido gave a small, malevolent smile. “He is known as—” Shido stopped, breathing exhaustively.

Joker came forth, and grabbed Shido’s collar within his red glove. “Who?” he demanded. “This person you call God, who is he?!”

* * *

**12/25/2016 Friday Evening**

Shido looked downwards into the streets below, into which Akechi had fallen.

Curiously enough, there was no sign of a body anywhere.

“Goro… damn you, Goro…”

What was wrong with him? Why would he say such a nonsensical thing to Akechi?! _The Phantom Thieves… those damn Phantom Thieves…_ He grimaced furiously. _I have to crush them!_

“We think we figured it out!” one of Shido’s accomplices shouted. “A medicine—”

“I don’t know if we should do it,” the researcher they had called cautioned. “It seems too risky!”

“What would it— _AGH!!”_

_“SIR!”_

The reddish-purple fuzz— far more vibrant and disorienting than before —tainted Shido’s vision. A voice rang in his head. It sounded like himself… laughing…

**_Sincerely apologetic…_ **

“No! This can't... NO!” Shido collapsed suddenly, and began leaning on his desk for support, his body convulsing wildly.

He turned to the researcher, desperate. “Can I… really kill the Phantom Thieves… if I take that?”

“According to Isshiki Wakaba’s research…” the man, who was tall, average sized and wore a plain white coat, began to explain, “temporarily collapsing a Palace will take out anyone inside it as well. The abrupt nature of such a collapse means they will be unable to escape unless they are extremely lucky, but—”

“But what?!” Shido felt his other self’s voice growing louder… louder… He needed to hurry up and take this… whatever this was…

“The only way to purposely erase a cognitive world,” the researcher continued, “is by ceasing biological activity— which is what this pill will do. It will, in other words, temporarily kill you. There are great risks involved—”

“Anything will do! Give it to me!”

Shido snatched the bottle of pills from the doctor, and took the medicine at once—

“Now… they’re done for…”

But as he started to fall… he sensed the voice of his other self become one with him… it spoke to him in his mind…

**_Cannot… forgive myself…_**

_NO!_

And then Shido was out cold.

* * *

“The name of this God?” Shido laughed at Joker, his smile growing greater and greater. His laugh was far more diabolical than it had been previously. “Ha! But you are too late!”

“Too late?” Joker gave Shido an annoyed glare. “What d’you mean, too late?!”

Shido continued to maintain his malevolent smile. “The ignorant masses have spoken… this ship shall sink, this country destroyed, and the falling ceiling of my world will at once crush you all!” He cackled like a madman. _“Goodbye, Phantom Thieves!”_

And then, much to Joker’s shock, Shido disappeared from his grip— instead becoming a pool of black mist.

“What the hell?!” Skull protested. “What the hell’s he talkin’ about?! What just happened? And what’s with the earthquake?!”

Skull was quite right to point that out. The ship was now shaking beneath the feet of the Phantom Thieves. There was a loud bang, and the floor shook even more violently—

“An explosion?!” Panther shouted, confused.

“B-B-But-” Queen looked up at the glowing wheel of the ship, then back at her teammates, shocked. “W-We haven’t taken the treasure yet!”

The Palace walls again shook violently.

“How is this happening?!” Noir yelled.

“I-I don’t know!” Oracle screamed. “It’s— the Palace is crumbling!”

“Something must have happened to Shido in the real world!” Mona yowled.

“Could it be,” Ace wondered, “that Shido is doing something to himself to try and stop us?!”

“It doesn’t matter!” Joker screamed. “We gotta get the hell outta here!”

“Come on,” Mona said, “let’s grab the Treasure and run!”

Noir snatched the wheel, and it shrank into a bite-sized version tiny enough to fit in her pocket— which is exactly what she did.

The team ran to the exit, but the path out of the Representatives Chamber was blocked. Water was starting to flood in…

“GODDAMN IT!” Skull hastily shuffled his feet and spun himself around. “Other way, other way!”

The team rushed back, but there was no obvious way out.

“A door!” Oracle yelled, pointing at the pathway to which she was referring. Joker dashed towards the direction she had indicated, and the Phantom Thieves all rushed after him.

Once inside, they found themselves in another hallway, and, frantically turned left into another passage watched over by a Shido statue. The team promptly turned into mice.

“W-What?!” Fox stammered, sounding rather irked. “This is no time for this nonsense!”

“Don’t pay it any mind,” Queen squeaked, “just keep running as fast as you can, everyone!”

The mousy thieves scurried away, Noir dragging the Treasure along behind her with her mousy teeth. Water began to break into the corridor, and they all scampered away as fast as possible and turned to another pathway where they reverted back to their human forms.

“That door— damn it!” Joker looked like he was panicking. “It’s locked!”

“How are we—” Panther began, but Ace charged in front of them, running as fast as she could, her billowing black gown trailing behind her theatrically.

“IRENE!” Ace called out, tearing off her mask as she rushed the obstacle. Her Persona materialized, promptly bludgeoning the door and snapping it in two. It gave way to reveal a space in the rafters above the entrance hall— which the thieves found also flooded.

“We can’t go that way either!” Panther shouted, panicking as the the team stopped just short of falling down into the water.

“WE ARE NOT GOING TO DIE LIKE THIS!” Mona yowled with indignant determination.

“A window!” Fox yelled, “I think we can—” but upon seeing the sight which greeted them from beyond said window, he stopped short and gasped. “No—”

“We’re gonna die!!!” Oracle shrieked, terrified. “I don’t know how to swim!”

The bow of the ship was turning upwards to the distorted Palace sky, sinking deeper and deeper into the depths of the country beneath them. “Wait,” Queen said, pointing, “over there! there’s a lifeboat!”

“Let’s go!” Skull yelled. Joker nodded his assent. The Phantom Thieves ran to the next window, facing straight towards the bow and the attached lifeboats.

“We just gotta get there…” Skull said, hopefully, but the team knew it was fruitless. The ship was sinking… and their doom was fast approaching… too fast.

“It’s too far.” Fox’s tone sounded truly defeated. “We can’t…”

“No, but he can!” Joker realized. “Skull— you’re the fastest of us all—”

“What?!” Panther asked, “it’s too— what if —”

“I got this.” Skull eyes centered upon the finish line as he cracked his knuckles, ready to roll.

“you— get… What did you say?” Panther’s voice slowed and quieted to a whisper.

“Hang tight! I’ll nab the boat!”

Joker nodded his approval. “Show us what you’re made of, Skull!”

Skull dashed out the window, and up the tilting side of the ship. He kicked himself upwards into the distorted sky, and flew through the air. Such heights, Joker was certain, would not be possible for him to attain in reality. It was thanks to the unusual physics of the Metaverse that they had any chance of escape.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa _aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhmmmf!!!”_ Skull leaped up, reaching outwards, and his hands gripped the release mechanism on the lifeboat. It fell, and the Phantom Thieves all cheered.

“Everyone get in!” Joker yelled, rushing down the side of the sinking ship to reach the boat. “Hurry!”

After everyone piled in, Fox pulled the switch, and the boat began moving…

Skull let go of the crane that had been holding the boat, and found himself falling.

“WHOA!” he yelled, as an explosion went off above him. “That sure looks dangerous!”

He braced himself for the impact— his descent was nowhere near as graceful as Joker’s had been in the casino.

“Look out!” shouted Panther, holding out her arms as the boat moved underneath him, just in time. Skull landed clumsily in Panther’s embrace, and grinned.

“Oh, hey— uh, thanks for catching me… uh…”

It did not take a fool to see what he was really thankful for. Panther slapped him in the face, and he tumbled over, now finding his place in the boat.

“Whoa, what’d I do?”

“What’d you do?!” Panther snapped. “Don’t you play dumb with me! I saw that, you perv! And you almost got yourself killed up there! Jeez, you’re such a—”

“Whoa, take it easy, Lady Ann,” Mona said earnestly. “I bet Skull probably would’ve been fine! And I don’t think he did anything wrong—”

“Hmf!” Panther crossed her arms, and petulantly looked away from both Mona and Skull, refusing to look at them.

“Forget that!” Joker said urgently, pulling out his phone and opening the Metaverse. “We need to go!”

* * *

**12/25/2016 Friday Evening**

“Sir… ?!”

Shido Masayoshi found himself coming to after a dreamless sleep… no longer hearing the voice of his other self… but his own voice. He had wanted to prevent… he had taken… he had tried to kill…

Kill? Why would he do such a thing… his own true voice told him that he would never… never kill a soul. He was too… kind. He was too honest. What had been wrong with him all these years? It was as if… he had been freed. As if his mind had been cleared. He could finally understand…

“What… have I… done?” he gasped. Taking a look around him in his office… research papers everywhere… a broken window… several men, some in suits, some in white research lab coats… they all looked rather baffled by Shido’s odd behavior.

“Is the medicine still affecting you?”

“Medicine… ?”

That’s right… the medicine. Shido had taken the medicine. Tried to kill the Phantom Thieves… he stared forward at the wall in front of him. Why would he kill the Phantom Thieves? They were simply children… teenagers… hadn’t he been making all these speeches about how children were the future of Japan? Why would Shido Masayoshi, such a kind, honest man, kill children…

The men said more words, but he barely heard them…

_… to a hospital… ?_

_should… wait and see… longer…_

Then he remembered… right. Shido had… he had… he had not believed his own words… He had betrayed his image. He had betrayed Japan. Betrayed the future generation… betrayed his own true self. The self that the Phantom Thieves, he now saw, had awakened him to.

“I-I…”

Shido buried his face in his hand and began sobbing.

“I must… atone…”

“NO— Was his heart changed?!”

Shido’s accomplices continued frantically discussing the situation in panicked voices, but he paid them no attention. He couldn’t stop thinking about all he had done… the lives he had destroyed… and… Kurusu Akira… the boy who he had incriminated in the bogus assault case.

Why, Shido wondered, did Kurusu stand out in particular, amongst all those others?

Hundreds of other names and faces that he didn’t even know…

* * *

**12/25/2016 ❅ FRiDAY Evening**

**_The destination has been deleted._ **

“So it has,” Sae noted, looking at her phone quietly. “And finally… the man responsible for everything will face justice.” She looked at the item in Haru's hand. "So this is what you call his Treasure. A legislator's pin? Hmm."

"We've got no use for such a thing," Haru remarked sadly.

"To think this was the source of such an incredible distortion," Morgana commented, curiously. He bent his head and downwards and snatched it away with his kitty teeth, then spat it into a nearby trash can. "Well, good riddance."

"Thank goodness it's all over," Ann agreed.

“But what about that ‘God’ Shido mentioned?” Fox wondered. “What do we do about this? He said it so seriously, it must be real in some capacity.”

“Nah, he was probably just goin’ crazy!” Ryuji said dismissively. “No way there could be some god raining bullshit or whatever!”

“I doubt that,” Akira mused quietly. “Even if Shido was exaggerating— it’s not out of the question to think there was someone else backing him. And if there is, we might be in a lot of trouble…”

Sae placed a firm hand on Akira’s shoulder.

He turned his head, and there she was— smiling at him. Smiling at all of them.

“Don’t worry.” Her eyes twinkled, like those of a kind mother. “You’ll be okay. I’ll make sure nothing bad happens to you. I promise.”

Makoto gasped softly. “But, Sis—”

“You said it yourself, Makoto. I’ve always protected you. I’m sorry… for everything I’ve done wrong. But that’s the one thing I’ve done right.” Sae gave Makoto a look of firm, grateful conviction. “In the end, I fulfilled my promise to Father… and now—” She looked once again, to all of the Phantom Thieves. “I’ll protect all of you, too.”

“Are you sure you’ll be able to handle that?” Yusuke inquired, concerned. “You’ve already got—”

“I know I can do it. I have to. As long as I’m alive, no harm will come to any of you. That’s a promise.”

Akira nodded gratefully. “Thank you, Niijima-san.”

At this, Sae let out a rather melodic and full-feeling laugh. “Akira! I thought we’d gotten ourselves on a first-name basis, hadn’t we? Why the change?”

“Oh!” Akira looked slightly embarrassed. “Well, I just thought, because— uh— you were being so serious!”

“Don’t worry about it.” Sae extended her arms across all the shoulders of the teenagers now in her charge, embracing them all caringly.

“Hey!” Morgana protested indignantly from inside Akira’s bag. “You’re crushing me!”

“I-I’m not used to this!” Futaba yelped, struggling to get free.

“Uh… Niijima-san— Sae!” Haru said nervously. “I know you mean well, but, please, let us all go!”

Sae laughed once again, and freed them all from the group hug. “Come on, let’s get you all home.”

* * *

“Trickster…”

Akira slowly opened his eyes, to find a rather familiar face standing near him in Leblanc… a rather small and childlike face, with almost glowing blonde hair and butterfly pins.

“… Lavenza?”

The little girl clapped her hands happily. “I’m glad you remember me!” She jumped upwards and gave Akira a warm, fuzzy hug that was rather difficult for him to get the hang of, especially considering how unexpected it had been. This was only compounded by the great difference in their height.

“Oh, I’ve always wanted to do that!” Lavenza said happily, pressing her face into Akira’s chest, still bearing that same wide, innocent smile as she indulged in the embrace. “So this is what a ‘hug’ feels like!”

Akira looked dubiously at the girl. “Uh—”

“Right.” Looking serious now, Lavenza detached herself from Akira, and fell down to the ground. “First of all, Trickster… congratulations on your success, cheating death and stealing the heart of that wicked and prideful tyrant!”

“Uh— thanks.” Akira stared at Lavenza, still unable to help but be a little confused.. “So… what are you here for?”

“You are not wrong in thinking there’s more to do,” Lavenza explained. “And what an odd case this is, indeed. You have tread this path before, my Trickster, and now the path has been prolonged.”

Akira narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “And why’s that?”

“There is a great enemy at the end of this path, toying with you and your teammates. He thinks he can win this time around. And to answer your question, Trickster, I am here to help prevent that. It will be nearly impossible to anticipate and escape this enemy’s manipulation, unless you are cognitive of the threats to come.”

“Cognitive of the…” Akira suddenly realized what Lavenza meant. “And that’s why you came to me to deliver this—”

He reached into his pockets and pulled out the Velvet book.

“Oh, did you forget about that?” Lavenza giggled. “You should really use it about now, especially since you’ve finished this quest.”

“But, why didn’t you come to my dreams to warn me before?”

“I couldn’t have, Trickster. Your dream world had been taken over by the enemy.”

Akira sat quietly, considering everything. It all sort of made sense… but he couldn’t help but feel a little confused.

“Well, I must be going now, Trickster,” Lavenza said eagerly, approaching the door to Leblanc. “My master needs me. Good luck!”

She turned back a moment and blew him a kiss, before exiting and disappearing from view.

Akira looked out at the window where she had been— then, down at the Velvet book in his hands.

He reached over Leblanc’s counter for a pen, opened the book, and began writing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be the final chapter of this arc of the story. All the lingering plot threads will be wrapped up. I hope you all enjoyed this story so far, and will continue to enjoy the future arcs!
> 
> I don't plan to get really serious about starting the News-chan arc until after I get back from Tokyo. So you'll likely be waiting a little. But I promise I will use all that time to develop and outline it the best I possibly can. I've already got the story in mind, but there's a lot to flesh out, so.
> 
> Please leave your comments if you have any about how you feel about the story so far and what you'd like to see going forward! I do read your comments, and I might not use your ideas, but I will certainly at least consider them.


	27. Future and Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Shido finally defeated, it's time for the Phantom Thieves to go home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 27 of 27 on the 27th.
> 
> Enjoy.

“What,” a familiar, deep voice called out, “have you done, Trickster?”

Akira’s eyes fluttered open, and he stood up, staring forward. _Another dream… or rather… between dreams?_

It was the Velvet Room, once again. Igor was there, as were the twins— and they both looked even more cross than usual. And come to think of it… Akira hadn’t been here since… since before he died. The door had simply not appeared in Shido’s Palace. Why was that…?

“Our master has an important matter to discuss with you,” Caroline stated simply. “You have created a strange abnormality! We demand to know why this is!”

“Indeed,” Justine agreed. “There have already been many changes in the pre-existing future, owing to your breaking of the path once before you and your teammates. This has opened the potential for catastrophe.”

“What are you talking about?” Akira asked, his voice thick with apprehension. “What do you think I did? We stopped Shido! We saved Tokyo!”

Igor forced a chuckle from beneath his eternal smile. “Why, yes, you did. And surprised me very much in doing so— It was quite a spectacle of a heist you have pulled off. However… in doing so, you have greatly disrupted my… expectations.”

“Expectations?” Akira was quite frustrated with Igor’s attitude. “Could you try and not be all so fucking ‘mysterious hocus pocus’ like, just for once?!”

Caroline banged on the cell door, causing Akira to jump away. “How dare you speak that way to our master! You’d do well to remember where you are, inmate!”

Igor laughed his usual condescending laugh. “Haha, do not worry. The prisoner has made a reasonable request. Allow me to clarify. You are aware that you were killed, correct?” His deep voice pierced the menacingly cold air like a poison dart.

“Yup. And I came back to life.”

“Yes. And in doing so, you have greatly disturbed the balance of the game. The world has been overrun with confusion in response to the return of a supposed dead man. Your enemies have gone berserk trying to catch you. And this has consequently incited great chaos.” Igor seemed quite irritated.

“Great chaos?” Akira asked. “Could you please be a little more specific?”

“Great chaos in the minds of the public,” Igor clarified. “They are now questioning the nature of their very lives. If Phantom Thieves can return, then why not truly despicable villains? Murderers, rapists, terrorists? The dozens of men worldwide who were charged with the death penalty, perhaps, whose crimes would be able to continue if they simply returned. Do you see how this might cause a great upset?”

“Maybe,” Akira admitted. “But what does that have to do with me? My team and I did what we could! And plus, how does anyone know that such people are coming back to life? For all we know, this was just a one time thing that some god or magic pixie or some shit set up specifically for us!”

“Indeed, that may be the case, and you do deserve congratulations for those efforts.”

“Then why is it a problem?!” Akira yelled, raising his voice to a shout. “We didn’t deserve to die in the first place!” He was getting a little riled up. “And even if criminals like that did come back to life, the Phantom Thieves would be here to change their hearts!”

“The Phantom Thieves are not all-powerful, _INMATE!”_ Caroline shrieked. “Do watch your tongue!”

“Right,” Justine noted. “You are not an omnipotent being capable of cleansing the world of all criminals. You would do best to remember this.”

“I-I-” Akira stammered, “That’s not what I meant…”

Igor laughed, not fazed by Akira’s outburst. “Ahahahahaha… you are truly dedicated to your cause, and thus a refreshingly entertaining prisoner. I suppose you could certainly try targeting any such criminals… but it would be useless in the end.”

“Useless?!” Akira yelled in disbelief. He was absolutely stunned that Igor would say such a thing. “What do you mean, useless?”

“Ha, perhaps I have said too much,” Igor chuckled. “For the time being, it is irrelevant. You may forget it. But do note, Trickster, that soon you shall despair, as you are led to your inevitable ruin…”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Akira yelled, furiously shaking his fist at Igor. “Who the hell are you to tell me what to do anyway? What makes it your business to say when my ‘ruin’ will come?!”

Igor only laughed and laughed, as the Velvet Room faded away.

“Now, return to your world, Trickster, and you shall soon see the futility in resisting the future of which I speak.”

* * *

**12/25/2016 ❅ FRiDAY Evening**

Ann entered her parents’ lavish home, and, walking upstairs through the empty halls, flopped down onto her bed.

Her parents were still overseas on some business trip, getting new clothes that they’d designed modeled. In the Netherlands or Denmark or something. Maybe China. They sent letters, occasionally, but they never contained much details of interest to her, so she hardly ever read them. As a result, she’d lost track of where they were, and hardly ever cared.

“Oh… are you… Ann-chan?” a young voice called. Not a voice which Ann was familiar with.

Ann looked up at the source of the voice, an average height young woman who appeared to be about nineteen.

She was wearing a colorful apron over a tye-dyed shirt and a skirt which bore an unusual shade of yellow. Her feet were fitted with a mismatched pair of brightly colored socks. Since her parents were hardly ever around to enforce a dress code, the caretakers usually wore whatever they wanted, but Ann had never seen any caretaker wearing something like this.

“Um… yes, I am she,” Ann said politely. “And you are…”

“Rei Tamayama,” the woman said. Rei was rather pretty. She had pleasant sage green eyes, short auburn hair, and a small, friendly face.

“When the police started coming over to interrogate the caretakers here, a few them quit because they found their presence here too stressful to do their work effectively… I was hired by Takamaki-sama— er, your father —to replace one such caretaker.”

“I see…” Ann understood… her father handled all the management of the servants, and quite frequently found himself hiring new ones. Previous ones were either fired upon being found to be incompetent upon her parents’ occasional returns to Tokyo, or quit due to their own reasons— generally because they disliked or couldn’t handle working for employers who were never around to offer help or answer any questions.

“Ann-chan,” Rei asked, “the police said you were… one of those Phantom Thieves. Is that so?”

“Er—”

“That was a trick question,” Rei said, winking. “I saw that video, you know. I’d already seen you in many pictures, and in magazines— I would know your unique frame anywhere.” She smiled and sat down next to Ann on her bed. “I’m a huge fan of the Phantom Thieves!”

“Really?” Ann was still a little cautious. Rei seemed nice enough, but she didn’t really know her very well yet, and it couldn’t hurt to take care before revealing any critical information.

“Well—”

“They saved me,” Rei went on, “back in July. I was sucked into working that shady drug-smuggling job… I was told that the only way out was to… sell myself…” Rei looked disgusted by the thought. “Of course, I refused. There was no way I was ever going to do such a thing… but when the Phantom Thieves took down that mob boss— Kaneshiro, right?”

Ann nodded. “So… what happened?”

“I was just… let go. Since then I’ve been bouncing around from job to job… and then I saw some advertisement on the internet about a caretaking job at a fancy house… and, here I am.” She looked at Ann gratefully, before standing up and bowing her head to the ground. “Thank you for saving me, Ann-sama!”

Ann was stunned and gratified by Rei’s words… She had never maintained this long of a conversation with her parents’ employees before. Usually they just ignored her and went on with their work— or lack thereof.

“Oh, er— you’re welcome, Tamayama-san. Uh… just Ann is alright. Or ‘Ann-chan,’ if you must.”

“Ah, very well then, Ann. In that case, you may call me Rei.” Rei smiled brilliantly. “If you don’t mind me asking… did the Phantom Thieves really come back from the dead? How did they do it?”

“I…” Ann thought it over for a moment. “I can’t say… It’s kind of… complicated. I suppose you could say our deaths were a dream.”

“A dream…” Rei was fascinated. “That sounds… incredible… it must have been quite the journey.”

“Oh, hell yeah it was…”

“What’re all of you planning next?” Rei clapped her hands like an excited child. “Something spectacular, I’m sure.”

“Um— I don’t know,” Ann said. “We weren’t really planning anything…”

“Oh,” Rei looked a little disappointed. “I see. Well, if you plan to steal any more hearts, let me know!” She carefully sat down on Ann’s bed again. “In the meantime, can I— uh… get to know you more?”

After a moment, Ann gently nodded.

“Sure…”

* * *

**12/25/2016 ❅ FRiDAY Evening**

Ryuji unlocked and opened the door to the tiny apartment, peeked inside, and looked about for his mom. He hoped she wasn’t looking for him.

Thankfully, she seemed to not be present at the moment. Allowing himself a sigh of relief, Ryuji slowly stepped all the way inside and closed the door.

Ryuji’s mother— Otoha Sakamoto —wasn’t one to go outside very often. Being injured after what Ryuji’s father had done, she simply wasn’t much for getting around. Even so, Otoha was no fool, and she’d almost certainly be upset at Ryuji’s unexplained disappearance. He really didn’t want to have to deal with that now. Hopefully she was asleep…

Doing his best to conceal himself behind shelves and chairs in case she happened to be awake and watching, Ryuji quietly crept about the apartment, and soon found his way to his bedroom door. It was unlocked. Still quiet as he could ever possibly manage, he opened it.

Much to his great relief, everything was just as he had left it. _Whew._ He’d been a little worried that his mom might move his belongings to make room for some reason or another, but, nope. All good.

So he stepped inside the room, and—

“RYUJI!”

Ryuji turned around, seeing a familiar figure standing in the doorway. Instantly, he backed up, hoping the darkness would hide his face.

“I’m not a Ryuji!” he yelled back at Otoha. “I’m just a… uh… uh…”

The light was switched on, and Ryuji instinctively covered his face. “Ah! Turn that off, Mom! It’s really frickin’ bright!”

“Ryuji!” Otoha rushed forward, and, much to Ryuji’s great surprise, wrapped him up in a rather tight hug. “Where have you been?”

“Mom…” Ryuji gasped for breath. “Hey, loosen up a little.”

Otoha let go of Ryuji, instead placing her hands on his shoulders.

“You’re one of those… thieves, aren’t you?”

Ryuji coughed nervously. “Sorry?”

“Phantom Thieves. You’re one of them, Ryuji… why would you—”

“How did you know?”

“Did you seriously think I wouldn’t recognize you on that video message?”

Ryuji gulped. He knew he was really in for it now.

“I-I can explain—”

“Oh, you’re damn right you’re going to explain, Ryuji!” Otoha shouted. “Why did the Phantom Thieves need you to disappear for a _month?!”_

“Um—”

“A month, Ryuji! A month! I talked to all the neighbors! I called the police! Three times, Ryuji! _Three times!_ They ignored me! Never went anywhere looking for you! I drove all around the streets in a rental car looking for you! I-I thought you were _dead,_ Ryuji—!”

“Mom… I’m… I’m sorry, I had to—”

“Oh, Ryuji,” Otoha said, weeping with anger and joy, “I-I’m so proud of you…”

Ryuji’s eyes widened, and he forgot his words.

“…Huh?”

“You… To think it was _you…_ standing up to all those terrible men!” Otoha, through her tears, smiled at him joyously. “I was so afraid you’d end up like your father, but, Ryuji— you’ve done so much he could never have done… that _I_ could never have done!” She hugged him again, still crying onto his shoulders. “I love you so much…”

Ryuji’s face slowly became animated again, as he fully took in all of his mother’s words.

“Uh… thanks, Mom.” He smiled softly, as well. “I love you too.”

Otoha broke the hug, and, though still smiling, wiped the tears from her eyes and gave him a strict look.

“Now, you’re going to explain everything to me,” she said firmly, “and then you’re grounded for two weeks. You come straight home from school, and go nowhere else, and see no one. No Phantom Thieves, no running practice, you got that?”

Ryuji nodded. Though somewhat reluctant, he understood that this was for his own good.

“Okay. Good.” Otoha folded her arms and crossed her legs, looking at her son expectantly. “Now, tell me the whole story. And I mean the _whole_ story. Don’t you dare leave out anything.”

Ryuji cleared his throat. “Well… it’s kind of wild. You might not believe it all.”

Otoha gave him a trusting smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll believe it.”

“But—”

“I know you wouldn’t lie to me, Ryuji.”

Ryuji sighed. His mother certainly had a point there.

So, he took a deep breath, and began. “It all started when me an’ this transfer student met a talking cat in a castle...”

* * *

**12/25/2016 ❅ FRiDAY Evening**

Yusuke was now back at Kosei High. It was quite late, the lights were off, and everyone seemed to be asleep. There were no locks on the dorm rooms, and no security to speak of, which made it fairly easy to gain access. Yusuke entered his dorm room and took a seat, removing his hood and taking a deep, satisfied breath…

But then looked around, noticing the… emptiness… of the room.

“What… where did my… oh no!”

Yusuke’s dorm had been almost completely cleared out. There was almost nothing left save for his bed, which was stripped clean of its sheets, his aquarium which had been emptied of water and aquatic life, and the fridge…

“Wha— Sota! Sora! My… my lobsters!” Yusuke shouted in anguish. “Where on earth are my… !”

Yusuke rushed to the fridge and opened it… Nothing was inside.

“… What happened to my bean sprouts?! My nutrition! My nourishment!”

A crowd of Kosei students in their pajamas, who had been awakened from their slumber by Yusuke’s yelling, all stumbled over to the open door to see what was going on.

“Kitagawa-kun,” one of the elder girls said, “are you alright?”

“I… I…” Yusuke turned to face everyone and quieted down. “My apologies. Did I disturb all of you?”

“Dude,” said one of the guys, “you woke up like everybody… even the girls heard you, and they’re like two hallways away.”

“I see…” Yusuke relaxed himself.

“Why are you here?”

“I heard a rumor that you were dead!”

“Were you sick or something?”

“Kitagawa-san, is everything okay?”

The students kept bombarding him with questions…

“Everyone, you may return to your dormitories!” called a loud voice.

They all ran off back to where they came from. A tall figure emerged into the hallway.

“Yusuke!” the art professor said in a commanding tone, “I must speak to you for a moment. Would you please come with me to my office?”

Yusuke nodded, and followed his teacher.

“Sensei,” he asked as they moved forth through the halls, “what happened while I was away?”

“Quite a lot,” his professor said, “There were many unfounded rumors spread about your absence. No need to dwell on every bit of that nonsense…” he sighed in disgust. “I’ll inform you of the essentials.”

They soon arrived at the office door. Yusuke’s teacher opened it and entered, beckoning for him to follow. “Please, take a seat.”

Yusuke did so, and carefully said, “What do you know… about what happened?”

“Well, about two and a half weeks ago, you left the art studio for a break, as we all know… you were never seen again.” The professor rubbed sleep from his eyes. “We filed a report to the police that you were missing, but it was not acknowledged. Naturally, many of the staff became suspicious.”

“And… then what?” Yusuke wondered.

“Nothing, until that message from those Phantom Thieves aired. And then I noticed the resemblance.”

Yusuke looked nervous.

“It is true, isn’t it?”

“How… how did you know, Sensei?”

His teacher gave a small smile. “Yusuke, their leader— your friend. He had died, yes?” He chuckled a little. Yusuke gave him a strange look.

“Except, he’s somehow alive again, I suppose,” the professor went on. “The same way you are. I know my reaction may seem odd considering the circumstances— but I find it to be somewhat amusing that you and your friends are alive again.” He opened a small bottle of water and took a sip.

“Those bleak pictures you painted. I truly did quite appreciate them… they reminded me of my mother. She also painted such odd things.”

Putting away the bottle of water, his art teacher turned to Yusuke with a tired look in his eyes.

“Yusuke, I can’t say I approve of your actions. But I understand the meaning behind them, and that perhaps it may have been necessary to do what it was you did. But it doesn’t matter too much. No one at this school knows the truth, so your reappearance will almost certainly be dismissed. I have no intention of turning you over to the police as long as you give me no cause to do so. If you wish to stay in your dorm here tonight, I shall permit that.”

“Thank you, Sensei,” Yusuke said appreciatively. “But I must ask— what was done with my belongings? The lobsters in particular.”

“Ah yes, those lobsters. We had no idea those were there. As a matter of fact— you weren’t supposed to have any animals at all. It is one of the rules here… regardless, they were returned to the ocean from whence they came. As for the rest of your belongings, most were sold or given away.”

“I see…” Yusuke was quiet a moment. “I appreciate the offer to sleep here tonight, but I am not in favor of the current state of my dorm, so I don’t think I would like to stay here anyhow. I shall lodge elsewhere tonight.” He turned to leave, muttering quietly in an absent-minded manner, “And furthermore, I must get myself some new lobsters at the earliest possible opportunity…”

“Very well.” The professor nodded in acknowledgement. “I shall inform the headmaster of your return and sort out your enrollment status. I hope to see you again once school resumes in January. And if you need lobsters, please find somewhere other than the school dorms to keep them.”

Yusuke nodded and turned away to leave, before remembering something else that had been on his mind.

“Sensei?”

His art professor looked up curiously. “Hm?”

“While you’re checking on my enrollment, would it be possible for you to look into something for some friends of mine?”

* * *

**12/25/2016 ❅ FRiDAY Evening**

It was a cold evening in the streets of Shibuya as Haru headed home. There was a lot she was expecting. Her plants to be dead. Okumura Foods in disarray. Being bombarded with dozens and dozens of questions.

She had not been expecting to encounter Sugimura, busily trotting to and fro throughout the streets and whistling boredly to himself.

“Are you…” Sugimura took a moment to recognize Haru. “Oh, Haru. I’ve been looking for you.”

“Su-Sugimura!!” she gasped, nearly falling over in shock. “What do you—?”

“I heard you ‘came back.’ I just wanted to talk to you.” The “purple-suited clown,” as Akira would call him, spoke in a falsely amiable, acidic tone of voice.

“So you were a Phantom Thief? You died, and yet, you didn’t. Killed your own father, hoping to get his money… I wonder.” He sounded not apprehensive, exactly, but genuinely curious. “Why would you want to do that?”

“I…” she gasped. Haru had not been pleased to see the world believing that she had murdered her Father. Being reminded of this mistaken belief that she was aware so many people now held was, to say the least, very unpleasant.

“I didn’t kill Father!” she shouted at him her voice dripped with fury at the accusation. “And his money is the last thing I want! All I wanted…” she began to cry. “Was to remind him… what mattered most…”

Sugimura sighed. “I don’t… never mind, you killed him, or you didn’t kill him. It doesn’t matter. I do wonder though why, if you held this ability to ‘change hearts,’ why would you not change mine?” He smirked at her. “Perhaps you couldn’t… although I’m not sure why that’d be.”

Why had Haru not thought of this? Perhaps it was possible… Perhaps she could…

“Why do you want to talk to me?” she demanded, wishing to get this conversation over with as soon as possible.

“Ah, yes,” Sugimura cleared his throat. “I just wanted to let you know that the marriage was called off on account of your disappearance. Don’t worry about it. I frankly wasn’t interested in wedding you anyhow.”

“Oh, uh, really?” Haru wondered, “well, neither was I…”

“Oh. That’s refreshing to hear,” Sugimura’s face shifted from a false smile to a bored frown., and he whistled a little more. It was rather painful to listen to; he wasn’t very good at whistling.

“My own father was very insistent on it happening. He was rather irritated when you disappeared. I rather detest him. I can’t wait till he dies as your own father did, so I can finally take over his company.”

Sugimura turned his back to her, and Haru observed his wallet sticking out of his back pants pocket. A sudden adrenaline overtaking her, she glanced about to ensure no one was watching and stealthily swiped the wallet, swiftly pocketing it.

Haru had never stolen anything in reality before, and was rather thrilled by the experience. It was not unlike the rush she so often felt from the act of tearing Shadows to pieces in the Metaverse. Perhaps she ought to pickpocket more things if given the opportunity…

_Or maybe I should put it back…_

“Anyway,” Sugimura said, now seeming rather indifferent to her presence, “I have business elsewhere. Good luck to you, Haru. Let us hope we never cross paths again.”

Haru said nothing as Sugimura walked away.

Why had she bothered stealing anything from him? He no longer had any ill intentions, now that there was no money in the marriage deal for him, and his father had called it off. Since the bride was supposed to be dead. So what use was this to her?

Haru opened the wallet, and inside found three miscellaneous items— seven hundred yen in bills, a Japanese driver’s license, and an old printed photo portrait of Sugimura. Both appeared to be several years old. What made these worth keeping?

In the photograph, Sugimura’s hair was unkempt and dirty, and he wore the stupidest looking purple-colored sunglasses. He was sticking his tongue out at the camera, and looked even more like a clown than he did at present. The expiration date on the driver’s license was the 12th of January, 2015.

Haru wondered why he was carrying around a nearly two-year old driver’s license, and if he had ever bothered to renew it. Perhaps his father no longer permitted him to drive.

Though there was no need for the Phantom Thieves to change Sugimura’s heart, Haru was intrigued to know if he might have a Palace. She took out her smartphone and opened the Metaverse Navigator.

“My… former fiance— Kenji Sugimura.”

_No candidates found._

Hmm, well, Haru hadn’t expected anything. He wasn’t anything other than a spoiled, dissatisfied brat. And he had simply dropped the whole marriage issue and said goodbye to her… she wondered why. Perhaps he was trying to learn some manners.

Or perhaps he had simply been given some other girl to bother. Should that be the case, Haru hoped the girl would be okay, but nonetheless she was glad to be rid of him. It wasn’t unimaginable that perhaps he could develop a Palace in the future, when he was finally in control of his father’s enterprise.

 _Well, Sugimura probably won’t be needing any of this,_ Haru thought. _Since I’ve relieved him of it, I suppose I’ll just keep it as a souvenir._ Replacing the photo and driver’s license in her pocket, she turned and continued on her way home.

* * *

**12/26/2016 ❅ SATURDaY Early Morning**

Akira slowly stirred, feeling three familiar pairs of eyes looking at him…

Where was he? Had he been… he’d died, right? And he’d come back… but it all felt like a dream.

“Well, well, well,” a rather pompous and boyish voice meowed. “Look who’s back!”

Akira’s eyes opened gently, and he turned his head to see…

“Morgana?”

“Sweet! You remember my name!”

Akira rose carefully from the bed, to see what could only be called his family. His cat, his guardian, and…

“Futaba?”

Futaba shot Akira a bright grin. “You’re up!”

Akira rubbed his head uncomfortably. “What… happened?”

“Futaba and the Niijimas explained everything,” Sojiro said. “All about how heroic you were. You put everything on the line and went through hell and back to save Japan. And got yourself a girl.” He gave Akira a proud smile. “Y’know, you might not be such a handful after all.”

Akira looked at Sojiro in faint surprise. “You’re… not mad?”

“Well, I guess I was pretty pissed off about my house going up in flames,” Sojiro chuckled. “But, well, it ain’t so bad. That stuff can be replaced.”

“You were awesome!” Futaba said, holding up her hand for a high five.

Still recovering from the surrealness of the experience, Akira slowly returned the high five. Unable to help but be charmed by Futaba’s enthusiasm, he, too, let a little smile find its way onto his face.

“So… where’s everyone else?”

“They’re coming over later!” Futaba answered. “Sojiro said we could meet here to celebrate!”

“There’s gonna be sushi, right?” Morgana licked his lips happily. “I can’t wait!”

“Lemme guess,” Sojiro said. “The cat’s saying he wants sushi, right?”

Akira grinned.

Even after all that had happened, his family was all still the same as always.

“Thanks,” he said, sitting up and giving both Sojiro and Futaba a big hug. “Both of you. For everything.”

“Ack!” Futaba yelped, though she still nonetheless wore a big smile. “You’re squeezing me!”

Sojiro laughed again. “If you ask me, I’m the one who should be thanking you.”

* * *

**12/26/2016 ❅ SATURDaY Early Morning**

It was still very early in the morning. The sun had only just come up. Light mist lined the air around the cemetery.

“Father…” Haru looked down at the gravestone, labeled _Okumura Kunikazu._

“It’s been awhile…” She coughed nervously, hesitating. “You were going to give me away… so eagerly… to a man who would do me harm, for the sake of your company… you let money and power blind you… from your father’s… my grandfather’s… dream…”

Tears began streaming from Haru’s eyes. “And yet… I still miss you… Why? Why do I… mourn your loss? Father…”

Haru collapsed to her knees and sobbed. As she cried, wet tears pouring from her eyes and landing on the warm grass, fading into the cool, moist morning air…

* * *

**12/26/2016 ❅ SATURDaY Early Morning**

“I miss you…” Sae said sorrowfully, standing next to Makoto over the grave reading _Sadao Niijima._

 _After all these years hating him,_ she thought,  _it's about time I confront all of my hard feelings against him._

So Sae took a deep breath, and continued speaking...

“I’m sorry for what I’ve done… dishonoring your legacy as I did. I forgot what was important. I didn’t want to acknowledge you were gone. So I pretended that you’d never been there to begin with…”

Sae began weeping softly. “I’m sorry, Father,” she cried, “I lost my path…”

* * *

**12/26/2016 ❅ SATURDaY Early Morning**

Makoto, unsure of what to say and thus remaining quiet, gave Sae a small hug. _It’s been such a long time,_ she thought. _Sis has hardly been acknowledging Dad’s existence— after all these years…_

As she watched her big sister dry away her tears, Makoto heard another soft, sorrowful voice in the distance. She turned her head to see…

 _Haru?_ Makoto was a little surprised. _Why’s she… oh. Same reason we are, I guess._ Makoto let go of Sae, and approached Haru.

Sae, seeing Makoto’s intention, watched for a moment, then turned back to talk to her father’s grave.

“I know you… you would have… been proud of me for joining them…” Sae smiled a little.

* * *

**12/26/2016 ❅ SATURDaY Early Morning**

Makoto gently put a comforting arm around Haru. But Haru was so deep in thought, that she barely noticed the other girl’s touch.

She could only think of all that her father had done… all the lives he had ruined… and yet—

Haru looked up at her own father’s gravestone again.

“But I know… you wanted to bring people joy… You wanted to…” Haru choked up.

* * *

“I’ll carry on, Father!” the both of them said with determination.

“I’ll bring love back to your company… but on my own terms… I’ll realize Grandfather’s vision…”

“I’ll keep going… I’ll keep Makoto safe. I will uphold my justice, Father, no matter what I must do…”

Makoto lifted her other arm and held Haru in a tight, warming embrace around her waist. The grieving girl continued crying softly…

“I love you, Father…”

It was a moment before Haru became fully cognizant of Makoto’s arms around her, when she turned her head…

“Mako-chan…” Haru wiped another tear from her eye. “You… you’re here… when did you…?”

“You looked… really sad.”

Makoto looked at the other gravestone in the distance, where Sae was still watching attentively.

Sae began moving away from the Niijima grave.

Haru turned and returned Makoto’s hug. “Thank you.” She smiled gratefully at her friend and teammate. “Um, if you don’t mind me asking— What was your father like?”

Makoto swallowed for a moment, wondering what to say. “He was—”

“A good man,” Sae finished, walking over and squatting slightly to meet Makoto and Haru’s eyes. “He taught us to see… the truth… and justice.”

“The truth,” Haru mused. “I’m still not sure what that is yet. We’ve seen so much together.”

“We’ll find it,” Makoto promised. “Someday, we’ll find out where we all belong.”

The three of them sat down, and silently relaxed together in the grass for a long while.

“Haru,” Makoto asked, “if you don’t mind me asking… was there a particular reason why you wanted to come here today?”

“I…” Haru said softly… “I met Sugimura last night. He told me about how he hated his father, and wanted him to die so he could take over his company. It made me think. That maybe I should reflect on the meaning of my relationship with my own father, and my own motives…” She smiled softly. “I think it went well. What about you?”

“Sis wanted to talk to Dad about… everything that happened.”

Sae nodded. “So much went wrong these past seven years. I wanted to tell him… that I was going to fix it, I suppose. I think I’ve gotten a better sense of… clarity, now, since I joined your team. I wanted to share that with him.”

“I’m glad,” Haru said gratefully, “that we were able sort out our thoughts.”

“Yes,” Makoto agreed. “I feel better having come here as well. It’ll keep my spirits up while I wonder what to do about school.”

“Ah, that’s right,” Haru remembered, “you can’t come back with us.”

“I’ll have that sorted out soon,” Sae promised. “Shall we go?”

* * *

**12/26/2016 ❅ SATURDaY Early Morning**  
**Days Until Move: 18**  
**Find the Phantom Thieves**

I stood a generous distance away, acknowledging a grave of my own.

_Genichiro Hisakawa._

But unlike those Phantom Thieves, I was not here to grieve. I was here to wish grief upon a ghost. It only just so happened, that I crossed paths with those who I had been looking for. Without my terrific glasses, I certainly could not have observed the presence of…

“Niijima-senpai…” I murmured. “Her older sister, Sae… is she the tall one? And Okumura-san. Interesting.” I smiled deviously. “The Phantom Thieves certainly have quite the party.” I pulled out another notebook— a _new_ notebook —and jotted it all down.

“But will it be enough to rid Mother of her preposterous delusion of _you…”_ I turned and glared at the grave. “Oh yeah, and fuck you.”

I stood for another moment, watching the three thieves disappear.

Why did I not approach them, you ask? Well… after all the work I’ve done to convince Akira Kurusu, their supposed leader, to trust me, why would I? I would, however, be able to easily trace them back to Kurusu. Or, I could just text Auntie Ichiko… but I don’t think I’ll be able to rely on her help anytime too soon.

“I will find you, Kurusu-kun,” I whispered, quietly scribbling away in my notebook. “And I _will_ persuade you to help me.”

It won’t take too long, but you’ll have to wait till the next story. Sorry about that.

Having satisfied myself in the way of information for the moment, I spitefully spat into the disgusting dirt lying atop my father’s repulsive remains, and departed.

* * *

**12/26/2016 ❅ SATURDaY Daytime**

“Well,” Sojiro said, “I guess this ain’t no place for an old guy like me. I’ll leave the store to you all for now. Late Christmas present.” He gave Akira a fatherly look as he closed the door. “Make sure you clean up, got it?”

Akira acknowledged Sojiro’s gaze with a wink and a nod. “Don’t worry, Boss. It’ll be exactly like you found it!”

Sojiro gave an approving thumbs up and departed, leaving the Phantom Thieves to their small gathering.

“Akira,” Yusuke remarked, “you did a wonderful job working with Sae against Shido.”

“Indeed,” Sae agreed pleasantly. “I believe our powers paired quite well together.”

Akira nodded, smiling at Sae gratefully. “It’s all thanks to you for helping us.” He quietly took a sip of Sojiro’s coffee.

“Hey,” Morgana asked, a little puzzled. “Aren’t we missing someone?”

“Oh yeah!” Ann realized. “Ryuji isn’t here yet!”

“That’s right!” Haru said, looking about the store. “Where could he be, I wonder?”

“Yeah.” Akira checked the time on his phone. “He’s really late.”

“Oh, well,” Morgana said, turning his nose upwards petulantly and shaking his head. “I guess it doesn’t matter if he shows up!”

“Hey!” a voice suddenly called out, as the cafe door dinged open.

“Ryuji!” Ann shouted. “Where were you?!”

“Sorry about that,” Ryuji said apologetically. “It took ages to convince my mom to let me out for this! Now I’m grounded for a day longer, but, it’s worth it cause now I get to see you guys!” He grinned. “So, what’s up?”

“Something pretty cool, actually!” Futaba said, eagerly. “You all remember the song Akira had me use? ‘Wake Up, Get Up,’ by that Shoji dude?”

“What of it?” Akira said curiously.

“Well…” Futaba turned her laptop screen to him, showing him a page on a digital sales tracking website. “Since we used that song for the calling card, digital sales of it on iRworms have risen by like… twelve percent!”

“That ain’t very much!” Ryuji pointed out. “And wouldn’t it be cooler if we were getting a cut of the profits? We’re responsible for it, after all. They should be thanking us!”

“I don’t think that’s how music licensing works,” Haru said skeptically.

“But we didn’t license it or nothin’!” Ryuji shouted.

“Which is why we wouldn’t be getting any money from it,” Ann pointed out, exasperated by Ryuji's stubbornness.

“Well, whatever, it’s cool isn’t it?! Twelve percent of half a million _is_ a lot!” Futaba seemed pretty excited about it.

“I guess so,” Makoto decided thoughtfully. “I mean, there are only about nine million people in Tokyo’s wards, so it is still a relatively small number if you think about it… but still, it is a lot.”

“That’s… pretty good,” Akira decided. “It’s a good song. And I guess it does show that our calling card had an impact, right?”

“That’s the spirit, Akira!” Haru agreed, patting him on the back happily. “And plus, Shido will soon have his just desserts! Isn’t that right, Niiji- I mean, Sae-san?”

Sae nodded confidently. “I’ll have a case built up for him soon. I promise.”

“Yeah!” Ryuji cheered. “That bastard’s gonna finally get it!”

“And the Phantom Thieves have now had their last job!” agreed Morgana excitedly.

Akira wasn’t so sure of this. He considered what Igor had said… and that girl, Lavenza. There was a lot to still be suspicious about. “Hmm…”

“Akira, you okay?” Ann asked. “You seem really distracted.”

Akira blinked, and smiled once again. “Yeah.”

All his teammates looked so happy. Whatever was going to happen next, it wasn’t important. For now, the Phantom Thieves had cheated death to pull off their greatest heist yet, and it was far more important that they enjoy this victory.

So he straightened his back, and firmly stabilized his smile. “Come on. Let’s celebrate!”

* * *

“Shido-san!” Masaji Kaneto yelled, shaking his former boss by the shoulders. “Please, Shido-san! You have to remember! You’re the glorious Masayoshi Shido! Would you really let such a small and insignificant group like the Phantom Thieves bring you down?”

“It’s not the Phantom Thieves,” Shido cried. “It is I who has brought this all on myself! I must take responsibility! I must be punished! Please, Kaneto! Please, you have to let me go from this hospital! I assure you that I am a one hundred percent perfectly sane man!”

Kaneto shook his head in exasperation. “Damn it! Shido-san, the doctors promised you’ll be let go as soon as you start acting like yourself again! Please, just—”

“I am acting like myself!” Shido insisted. “Those men are mistaken! Please, free me, Kaneto! All you have to do is sign my release papers, and then everything will be fixed!”

Kaneto sighed, and turned away from Shido, with a defeated look on his face. “No— what am I going to do?! This can’t be!”

But it was. The glorious Masayoshi Shido’s heart had been changed, and now Kaneto would never truly become the Great Masaji Kaneto, assistant to said glorious Shido. And not only that, but, were Shido to somehow escape this hospital and expose his knowledge to the world, there would be no end to the trouble they would face! And not only _that,_ but—

Before Kaneto could finish his thought, his cell phone chimed. He looked down at it suspiciously.

It was a call from an unknown number.

Was it safe to answer? Kaneto had no idea, but then again it was safe to say he had no idea about many things. Perhaps it would be someone who could help restore the glorious Masayoshi Shido back to normal.

And so he answered it.

“Hello?”

The voice on the other end emitted a deep and menacing laugh…

Kaneto nearly jumped out of his skin at hearing it. This voice—

“Who is this?!” he yelled. “What do you want? Is this a prank?!”

The voice stopped its laughing long enough to speak a response.

_“Ha ha ha. Masaji Kaneto. I cannot put it into words why you amuse me so.”_

As Kaneto recognized who it was, his breath nearly froze. “You… Why are you… What do _you_ want with me?!”

 _“I believe that the correct question, Kaneto, is what do YOU want? You desire to succeed Masayoshi Shido? To match his incredible greatness?”_ The God laughed yet again. _“I do believe I can grant you that wish.”_

Kaneto was speechless. This man— this great divine being beyond a man, who had aided the glorious Shido —was he offering him, too, the chance to become more than man? It was certainly not a bad idea, but—

_“I shall propose a contract, and explain to you my terms. Should you agree, we shall begin our partnership, not unlike my partnership with your own, now former employer. You will at last have the means of becoming the man you have always dreamed of becoming. How about it, Masaji Kaneto?”_

Kaneto took a deep breath, and worked up the courage to speak.

“Very well. What are your terms?”

The God laid forth his terms.

Kaneto’s eyes widened in shock.

_“Now, what say you?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo I guess I need to list off everyone's relevant contributions to this stuff. The Persona 5 fandom as a whole definitely gave me lots and lots of inspiration for this whole story. But special mentions go to the following:
> 
> [Freinoir](https://twitter.com/freinoir), whose terrific Akira/Makoto fanarts (and he has lots of stuff for the nonshipping crowd too!) informed much of my writing for Akira and Makoto's scenes in this story, and whose short comic of [Sae and Makoto's father](https://twitter.com/freinoir) served as a basis for building Sadao's arc and relationship with Sae in the story.
> 
> [Da Huang](http://da-can-draw-stuff.tumblr.com/), who's been helping me awhile with stuff and who I commissioned awhile to draw my recurring OC [Misako Dekishi!](http://da-can-draw-stuff.tumblr.com/post/165653025585/and-were-live-misako-dekishibut-colored-and) She's a fantastic up-and-coming artist currently going through college, and you should definitely support her if you like her work.
> 
> And miscellaneous fandom posts:
> 
> [This comic](https://twitter.com/aiyuki4s/status/858301395476393984) inspired a particular scene in chapter 3 of this story.
> 
> [This comic](http://nemirutami.tumblr.com/post/160767654022/oh-sure-you-can-turn-into-a-car-but-if-i-want) which planted the seed for the radio scene in my head.
> 
> [This comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/Persona5/comments/6etjv7/if_sae_was_a_phantom_thief/) on the P5 subreddit which helped me decide on Irene Adler as Sae's Persona.
> 
> [This fanart](http://scruffyturtles.tumblr.com/post/161010273584/father-you-were-so-eager-to-do-away-with-megive) and its [voice dub!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVr6RdYq4Nc) for giving me the idea for the cemetery scene in this chapter.
> 
> And all of you for reading! See you next time! (When I get back from Tokyo.)
> 
> (I'm also writing another fic [about Lavenza](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12828888/) ~~and have a[Ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/josiahstick) b/c reasons,~~ thanks for your support of me too.)


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